Fracture (SYOC)
by Kiyuyuri
Summary: In recent months, mysterious occurrences have resulted in spontaneous death on an unprecedented scale, resulting in the government scrambling to formulate countermeasures, as well as to prevent the public from discovering the true supernatural nature of these events and causing panic. At the same time, a group of High School students awaken to a mysterious power. (SYOC Closed)
1. Summary

OP1: TRAGEDY: ETERNITY by MYTH & ROID

 **Background:**

In recent months, strange "occurrences" have started taking place where areas varying in sizes have had everyone within their vicinities suddenly end up dead, for example, an entire school, an entire district, and everyone inside a subway train have all spontaneously dropped dead. Similar events have occurred before but had been on scales small enough and rare enough that they were easily covered up and negligible, however, recent events have become so frequent that hiding them entirely from the public eye has proved more and more difficult. Needless to say this is a matter of grave national threat and as such a special department, Distorted Space Countermeasure Unit, DSCU, was formed in light of the discovery that the incidents have had to do with distortions in space and time.

At the same time, a certain group of High School Students have awakened to a certain power.

 **Stuff:**

Okay so, obviously, the High School Students in question are the newly awakened Persona users. Users are only able to awaken to their Personas when within a Space Time Distortion, or STD (Yes, this was done on purpose ayyyyy) for short, also known more commonly as a "Fracture". Therefore, I will handle the awakening of their Persona as part of the plot. Also, I'm accepting OCs in 2 phases, the first will be the main party members, and the second will be confidants who will be supporting characters. I am only accepting a few party members, but will accept as many confidants as there are Arcanas outside of a couple plot-centric characters, outside of the party. Note that confidants can also be Persona-Users, but obviously not all of them, only about two to four of them at max. Also, while party members must be in High School (Grade does not matter), confidants can be of any age and any background. I think an accurate description of this story would be a hybrid of elements from P3 and P5.

 **Schools:**

Party Members can come from any of these four schools.

Shinkiro High School: A co-ed public high school that can be considered the "normal" high school that most students in Japan go to. They have a balanced focus between arts and activities with academics.

Ayuzawa Academy of The Arts (Nicknamed "Triple A"): A co-ed private academy dedicated to the Arts. This is not restricted purely to fine arts or performing arts, but also courses such as media and journalism.

Kirin School for the Gifted: A private cram academy for boys dedicated to preparing students for university entrance exams. Their curriculum is very heavy on academics and is very strenuous. Rather than having high school and middle school separated, their program goes in a single streamline fashion, and students begin their preparations for uni exams right from the start, rather than having to go through a high school entrance.

Meijin Girl's Academy: Essentially the female equivalent of Kirin. The difference is that Meijin is noted for its exclusive and elite student body, with majority of students coming from wealthy families and while the students of Kirin are accepted purely via their academic merit, many students of Meijin were "bought" in or a combination of both elite status and good academics. Very rarely is a non-elite accepted through scholarships and only through exceedingly exceptional academic ability.

 **Clubs and Activities:**

As in the games, there will be things like clubs, hobbies and part-time jobs that do affect your OC's stats. The effects won't be as explicit as they are in the games but they do have a noticeable effect on your OC's growth. Also, do note that due to the natures of Kirin and Meijin's curriculums, they have a lot less time allocated to extra-curricular activities, and therefore received less boosts to their growth from them. In return, their knowledge increases a lot easier. The same goes for Triple A, but their bonus goes to creativity and crafting.

These are the following clubs in each school:

Shinkiro High School: Library, Drama Club, Dance Club, Track Club, Gymnastics Club, Soccer Club, Basketball Club, Akido Club, Kendo Club, Shoji Club, Gardening Club, Light Music Club, Computer Club

Ayuzawa Academy of The Arts: Cosplay/Anime Club, Engineering Club, News Club, Charity Club, Animal Lovers Club Drama Club, Dance Club, Track Club, Gymnastics Club, Soccer Club, Basketball Club

Kirin School for the Gifted: Archery Club, Shooting Club, War Games Club, Track Club, Gymnastics Club, Soccer Club, Basketball Club, Akido Club, Kendo Club, Shoji Club, Library Club

Meijin Girl's Academy: Shooting Club, Akido Club, Drama Club, Dance Club, Shoji Club, Gardening Club, Light Music Club, Cooking Club, Library Club

 **Combat:**

 **Personas:**

Like in all Personas, your OC will have their original Persona and their Ultimate Persona. I would like their initial Persona to be an original Persona created by you or if you're having trouble, I can create one for you but of course, it might not fit your own vision of their Persona if I create them. Their Ultimate Persona can either be an original or an existing high level Persona/Demon of your OC's Arcana.

 **Fighting:**

Personas obviously require a lot of energy to summon, so purely relying on them for combat will result in tiring out easily. Therefore OCs will have to be able to fight on their own as well, at least to a limited extent. Persona users also gain heightened physical abilities when within Fractures, but they are increased from your OC's base physicals, so someone who is normally physically stronger normally will likewise be the same proportionately in a Fracture. Once again, these physical stats are also based on what clubs or activities your OC partakes in. Moreover, any damage one's Persona takes will be reflected on the user. The damage is not to the full extent, but is enough that if your Persona got slammed by say a truck, you would feel like you just got punched in the chest by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

When in a Fracture, Persona users change appearances like in Persona 5 into an attire that reflects their personality.

Weapons work the same way as in Persona 5. Replica weapons function as real weapons when in Fractures, but your OC only gets one weapon, rather than the one melee and one ranged weapon combo. This is to give OCs more specialized roles. Also, the more realistic a weapon looks, the more effective they will be. Moreover, if one can pull off an elaborate weapon realistically, for example a VERY realistic replica of some super over the top weapon from an anime or game, those weapons are the strongest of all.

Similarly, armor works in the same way as weapons.

 **OC Form (Can be found on my profile):**

 **The story begins in April, at the end of Winter in Tokyo.**

 **Please include lots of detail and depth please.**

 **General:**

 **Name –**

 **Aliases/Nicknames–**

 **Codename-**

 **Gender-**

 **Age- (14 to 19)**

 **Grade-**

 **Occupation- (Main Character OCs should be students but your OC is welcome to have a part-time job)**

 **School-**

 **Sexuality –**

 **Nationality – (It's a story set in Japan, so while I'm not outright restricting non-Japanese characters, I have to draw a line if I get too many.)**

 **Ethnicity-**

 **Arcana-**

 **Appearance –**

 **Height and Weight-**

 **Hair- Color and Style (Anime colors are welcome)**

 **Eyes- Shape and Color (Anime colors also welcome)**

 **Skin-**

 **Body Type-**

 **Face-**

 **Chest Size- (If Female)**

 **Voice and Speech Pattern- (How would someone describe their voice and how do they speak)**

 **Seiyuu(optional)- Give your OC a seiyuu so I have a good idea what they sound like. You might want to include said seiyuu's particular performance for more specific reference.**

 **Outfits-**

 **School Uniform- Describe how your OC would wear their school uniform, like if they were it messy, rowdy, neat, etc Details would be good**

 **Casualwear-**

 **Sleepwear-**

 **Winterwear-**

 **Swimwear-**

 **Fracturewear- What your OC's attire changes into when in a Fracture.**

 **General Info:**

 **Clubs- Maximum of 2**

 **Hobbies –**

 **Likes – (Anything your OC likes, do they like books, pets, running around in their underwear, anything they're fond of, put them here)**

 **Dislikes – (The inverse of the field above)**

 **Favorite Food-**

 **Least Favorite Food-**

 **Advantages – (As a person, personality-wise. Or maybe if they have some physical weakness that hinders or improves actual everyday life. Combat related will come later.)**

 **Disadvantages – (Same as advantages)**

 **Personality – (I expect a detailed description, with capital double D. A minimum of 200 words. The clearer image I have of your character, and the deeper they are, the higher chance I'll accept them and the higher chance they'll have a larger role)**

 **Habits/Quirks –**

 **History – (Same as personality, I want details and a bare minimum of 300-400 words here.)**

 **Relationships – (List out and describe anyone who is close to them or have a substantial relationship with them in anyway. At least a brief physical description and profile such as age, occupation, etc, their regular interactions and their thoughts on each other)**

 **"Type"- (What kind of person are they romantically interested in)**

 **Theme songs(Completely Optional)-**

 **Combat:**

 **Role: (Tank, Melee Damage, Ranged Damage, Healer, Support.)**

 **Weapon-**

 **Additional Gear- (Pouches, smoke grenades, etc They may either serve a particular function or be an armor piece that adds to stats, like a breastplate.)**

 **Persona- Design your Persona here or let me know if you want me to create it on your behalf**

 **Ultimate Persona- Likewise, design it here, or if using an existing entity, put its name here.**

 **Fighting Style- Describe how they fight here**

 **Strengths- (Combat-wise, I don't mean their elemental weaknesses, I'm referring to stuff like tactical awareness, ability to work under pressure etc)**

 **Weaknesses- (Combat-wise, likewise in the same manner)**

 **Character List:**

Party Members:

The Fool- Hazuki Ryouta [M] "Hero" Shinkiro High School CV: Natsuki Hanae by ShinBP

The Magician-

The Devil-

The Empress-

The Emperor-

The Priestess-

The Justice-

The Moon- ?

Confidants:

The Hierophant-

The Lover- ?

The Chariot- Hazuki "Momo" Mochizuki [Female] "BiriBiri" CV: Minase Inori by Kiyumie

The Hermit-

The Fortune-

The Strength-

The Hanged Man-

The Death- Yuuki Mikoto [F] "Maverick" Meijin Girl's Academy CV: Fujita Akane by Kiyumie

The Temperance-

The Tower-

The Star-

The Judgment- ?

Arcanas with "?" next to them are not open and already have characters assigned to them.

Last note, keep in mind that I do have a very slice of lifey way of writing, and while I do love action scenes, a lot of time will be allocated to the "school life" aspect of Persona. That is not to say that this is going to be a sitcom. There will be action, I assure you.


	2. Prologue: Maverick

_I can't take this anymore!_

 _Why does our daughter have to be like that?_

The young girl opened her eyes with her lips slightly parted, the contents of her faint memories still echoing in her head as she peered sideways out of the bus window, idly watching the pedestrians on the sidewalk of Asakusa. She put her hand to her forehead and sighed before pulling her headsets over her ears under her dark hoodie rimmed with neon blue linings, brushing aside a few stray locks of jet black hair. She slowly blinked her eyes, her icy blue irises gleaming in the dim light, as her playlist started, drowning out the hum of the bus's engine, impatiently waiting to arrive at her destination and constantly checking the time on her phone's clock.

When she finally arrived at her destination, she quickly rose and promptly alighted with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, completely oblivious to the trio of high school boys intently watching the silky white and slender thighs beneath her skirt. Perhaps oblivious would not be the right word, rather, she could not be bothered to summon the energy to even acknowledge it. As she stepped off the steps, she felt a vibration on her phone, pulling it out as the bus left the stop, eyeing an invitation from a certain someone, to have dinner with her, to which she promptly shot a reply, stating that she could make it. As she pocketed the phone, she proceeded down the street, taking a few back alleys until she reached where she needed to go, before pulling out her phone once more, tapping on a certain app, revealing a map that showed a circle on the map along with a small blip along its southern rim, indicating her position.

"You have arrived." A mechanical female voice announced into her ear pieces.

Mikoto checked the timer on the app, noting as it reached 10 seconds on its countdown.

"Cutting it close, huh."

Mikoto pocketed her phone once more and stretched, an uncharacteristically girly voice escaping as she felt the relief in her muscles. She started humming to the tune of the song playing on her headphones right as the air around her turned to a red tinge and a fog started to develop. The few people around her in the square noticed the change and began looking around in confusion.

"Eh? Was there supposed to be fog today?"

"Why does everything look red?"

Mikoto simply considered the time, calculating in her head how much time she had to make it to her dinner appointment on time after she had finished up here.

"Guess I'll make this quick, not that it matters."

Mikoto mused right as the first screams rang out. Another reason why she liked listening to music whenever she entered a Fracture. The screams always got on her nerves.

"What was that?!"

"Are those…. screams?"

Mikoto spotted a pale green arm explode from the ground. The people around her flew into a panic as tall and thin figures, enough so that the outlines of their bones were visible, began literally clawing their way out from the ground. The creatures resembled naked goblins with pointed ears, glowing red eyes and razor sharp talons and teeth. Mikoto watched with boredom as a panicked teenaged schoolgirl backed up into the darkness of an alley only for a greyish green hand to grab her shoulder from behind. She froze up and slowly turned her head, her face writhe with terror, just in time to gaze into the glowing eyes of the Shadow, right before it bit into her neck, tearing out her throat before she could even scream, and all that escaped was a nauseating gurgling as the dying girl was pushed to the ground, and more sets of decayed limbs grabbed onto several parts of her body before gruesomely tearing her apart and devouring her, while her friend met a similar fate. Similar scenes played out all around Mikoto until she was effectively the only living being left in the vicinity, but she paid no attention, focusing her senses to search for her goal, promptly finding it in the center of a park. A small smile curled on her lips, before she licked them in anticipation, right before a man's ravaged and decapitated head rolled to her heel.

Mikoto looked down in disgust, rather annoyed by the blood now dotting her shoes, considering that she had just washed them. She was busy trying to shake the blood off when a Shadow slowly crept up behind her, the noise it made drowned out by the music playing directly into the girl's ears. Mikoto finally set her foot back down and sighed, lamenting at how she had to wash her shoes again so soon after the last time, right as the Shadow reached for her.

 _ **Flash**_

 ***Queue OP music: TRAGEDY : ETERNITY by Myth &Roid**

The Corpse seemed to stop short right before it's dead fingers could touch Mikoto's hoody, as the other Corpses turned to the sound of metal, just in time to see the head of Mikoto's would-be assailant slide cleanly off its neck as its body crumpled to the ground, as the wind picked up around Mikoto blowing the front strands of her hair around as her upper face stayed completely shrouded in the shadow of her bangs and hood, her arms now devoid of sleeves and her skirt replaced with a pair of torn pants fitting to her slender frame perfectly, lined with the same blue linings as her hoodie, which were now glowing in neon blue light. A smile played out across her lips and her left arm was outstretched, a massive sword, seeming as though it was segmented into many parts and easily bigger than Mikoto herself replacing where the Corpse's neck had been.

At the sight of fresh meat, every Shadow in the vicinity honed in on her, the formerly slow movements evolving into vicious animalistic rampage as dozens of undead barrelled towards her, intent of ripping her apart.

"Ghouls? What a joke." Mikoto giggled slightly.

Mikoto seemed to ripple out of existence right as the first Ghouls reached her position, reappearing several meters ahead of her. There was a momentary delay before 5 Ghouls that were in between her and her prior position burst into half, the shockwave of the attack knocking a few more off their feet. Wasting no time, Mikoto burst forward, effortlessly cutting through the waves of undead, heading in a single direction and closing in on her target. There seemed to be a sea of Shadows, but Mikoto would not, could not be stopped. She effortlessly cut through them like a bullet through paper.

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 _What are you doing?!_

 _Can you be a dear and do this for me?_

 _Can you never do anything right?!_

 _I hate you!_

 _You are absolutely useless!_

The beast roared into the air as the memories assaulted its shattered mind, as it trashed around the red-tinged scenery, leaving the once beautiful street in absolute ruin.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! KILL, KILL, KILL YOU!"

The monster was a gargantuan ogre at 18 foot, wrapped in chains with skin reminiscent of an orc's, its face completely deformed with massive fangs erupting from its disproportionate jaw, its hands lined in evil talons. Once, it might have been known by the name Kaizuka Jin, quite the average salary man who lived an average 9 to 5 job. However, years of office abuse, being taken for granted, being used and thrown aside has finally caused the middle-aged man to snap, allowing him to be the perfect candidate to be the source of a Fracture.

"NOT USELESS! KILL! NOT SLAVING ANYMORE! I NO DO ANYTHING FOR ANYONE! OGRE KILL KILL KILL!"

The deranged roars were interrupted when a dismembered corpse landed right next to Ogre. Ogre removed his oversized hands from its face, turning upwards to where the body had come from. In the dim red lighting of the Fracture, he made out the form of a female, about 5'5'' and slender balancing on both her feet on the top of a lamp post, her skirt and hair blowing in the wind. The girl seemed somewhat bored as she examined the nails on her right hand while her left held a massive sword propped up on her shoulder. Without turning to face her opponent, she taunted in a sarcastic and nonchalant voice.

"You done? I'm on a clock here."

The words caused Ogre to snap once more as he roared to the air in rage and exploded towards the girl, intent on decorating the park with her bloody entrails and mounting her head on a lamp post much like the one she stood on. With his height, reaching to her elevated point was easy and he slashed with his talons, already anticipating the feeling of his nails slicing through her flesh like a hot knife through butter… Only to touch nothing but air. Ogre barely had time to register that his attack had not connected before the same hand was separated from him at his wrist as the girl cut downwards in a spinning movement, cutting straight through flesh, muscle and bone before her blade slammed into the ground hard enough to cut a good half meter into the ground, shattering the concrete path. Ogre's roar of pain was interrupted as the girl as the girl immediately followed up by slashing upwards, using her entire body to propel her blade as she made her way up his body in a fraction of a second, cockskrewing around his body as a long gash from his thigh going around to his back before exiting at his opposite shoulder exploded in blood, causing him to lurch forward in pain.

In a frenzy, Ogre lashed out in a rampage, completely decimating the area around him, but none of his attacks met their mark. His attacks were stopped abruptly when the girl began an onslaught of her own, slashes and stabs seeming to rain from every direction with Ogre unable to even track her. Before he knew it, he had lost the entirety of his left arm and he was bleeding from countless gashes across his body before he suddenly felt a loss of footing. In a large and forceful horizontal spin, the girl had cleanly severed both his feet at the ankles, causing him to crumple forward, utterly defeated.

Through his pain, he could hear the soft footsteps of sneakers on concrete as he raised his head as best he could. What he saw was a girl in a dark lavender hoodie with a design of a Grim Reaper in chibi form on the front, her head covered in its hood and lime green headphones over her ears, with long hair that reached her chest the color of night itself. Her skirt barely covered a quarter of her thighs and most of her long legs remained bare with a lack of socks. His former self might have wondered how she did not feel cold at the end of winter in such an attire, but Ogre was now nothing more than a swirling hurricane of rage, hatred and bloodlust. The girl idly held her sword by her hip at an angle such that it just barely did not touch the ground with her right hand in the pocket of her hoodie.

"What a bore. Didn't even need my Persona." The girl smirked arrogantly with her taunt.

"But I guess I could show her to you. Consider this your funeral service. Elizabeth Bathory." Mikoto's icy blue irises suddenly rimmed in scarlet around their azure core and black flames seemed to erupt from her body.

Ogre mustered all the strength he could to roar in rage once more before a flash of metal was the last thing he saw.

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The small shopping street of Nakamise within Asakusa was not quite busy on a weekday. Most of the pedestrians were office workers and students passing through on their way to the train station. A pair of teenaged girls chatted cheerfully, sharing various pictures on their phones and giggling before they noticed a red liquid drip onto one of the screens.

"Eh?"

Both girls looked at the drop in confusion before looking up to look for the source before both their faces erupted in terror and a pair of screams erupted into the air. On the slanted roof of one of the stalls lay the ravaged and dismembered body of a man in office attire, the eyes of his decapitated head blank and dead. As more attention was drawn to it, the screams increased, and no one noticed a teenaged girl in a hoodie with a large bag on her shoulder casually walking away from the scene.

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 **Well, that was a taste of what's to come. There will be another prologue for Ryouta once he gets sent to me by Shin. Also, do note that Mikoto is something of a special case, in that she awakened to her Persona long before any others in the main cast, as such, has had much longer to learn to use her powers and grow in strength.**


	3. Chapter 0: Hero

***FOR BEST EXPERIENCE, PLAY THE MUSIC AT QUEUES FOR THE SCENES***

 ***Queue Velvet Room Music***

"Time to wake up."

Ryouta drowsily blinked open his heavy eyelids to the sound of an eccentric sounding and somewhat high-pitched voice. As the blur subsided from his vision, and a soft blue light entered his pupils, he made out the shape of scaffolding, large show lights and dark sapphire curtains above him, attached to a massively tall ceiling. Ryouta sat up and scanned around him to find endless rows of empty seats made from pure velvet, before he was blinded once more when a spotlight erupted to life onto him.

 _Wha… A theater?_

Ryouta was shaken awake by a wry cough, emitted from the same shrill voice from before. He turned his gaze to its source and couldn't help himself from recoiling and gasping in shock at the sight before. An intense looking old man in a suit, with his eyeballs all but popping out of their sockets and his impossibly long nose almost touching the desk he was hunched over. To his left, a rather pretty and young girl with golden hair flowing down the back of her blue and black dress that revealed next to no skin, her bangs neatly pushed to the right while the left portion of her hair was held back in a frilly blue hair band with the emblem of a golden flower and silver butterfly.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor." The old man chimed in a cheerful voice, much like that one Grandfather who seems to be brimming in energy despite being close to a century old.

"I'm Lavenza." The young girl spoke in a quiet and polite voice, her pretty features an emotionless mask.

"Might I ask what your name is?"

Ryouta seemed taken aback and blinked twice, before realizing that he was being addressed.

"Eh? Me?" He pointed to himself dumbly.

Igor chuckled good-naturedly and nodded while Lavenza simply sighed and turned her attention to the book in her arms, flipping through the pages. Her whisper was not lost on Ryouta, although in hindsight, he would come to suspect that was Lavenza's intention.

"Are you sure it's him, Master?"

"Of course my dear Lavenza. After all, were it not, he would not have found his way to this room in the first place. Now then, may I request your name once more?"

"Urm, ah, Ryuki Hazuka, NO WAIT, I meant urm, Ha-Hazuki Ryouta."

"Ryouta-Kun is it? Hm hm hm." Igor chuckled once more as he studied Ryouta closely while the teenager was suddenly aware of how self-conscious he felt, instinctively raising a hand to his shoulder and looking away slightly, trying to play off his nervousness.

"Now then Ryouta-Kun, it would seem that fate has taken quite an unexpected turn for you."

"Huh?" Ryouta turned back in confusion, as it started sinking in that he was in an impossible place with no idea what was happening.

"I don't understand. Where am I? What's going on here?"

"I believe my master already mentioned that this is the Velvet Room." Lavenza turned a cold gaze on Ryouta, here expression as blank as ever but her growing irritation was not lost on anyone.

 _That explains literally nothing…._

A revelation hit him like a light bulb lighting up in his head as he went "Ohhhh!" and he bumped his the bottom of his right fist into his left palm.

"I see! I'm dreaming! OW!" Ryouta felt a sharp pinch on his arm and found Lavenza staring up at him with her fingers in a pinching position, all the while with her still expression.

"Does that feel like a dream to you?"

"Ha ha ha. Come now Lavenza, it's not like you to be so irritable. Besides he is not incorrect. This room exists between dream and reality, between mind and matter. Indeed, you are probably asleep somewhere in the physical world during your time here."

Ryouta simply blinked, deciding to play along.

"Why am I here?"

Igor and Lavenza shared a look, before Igor responded.

"It would seem that there is great turmoil ensuing in your world, and your destiny appears to be tied to it."

"Evil is coming. In fact, it is already making its moves." Lavenza replied politely.

"But that is all the time we have for now. We will meet again soon, I am sure. But for now, curtains please." Igor snapped his fingers and the grand curtains on the stage closed on themselves, separating the two enigmatic beings from the very confused 17 year old boy before the lights went out and Ryouta was dropped into darkness once more.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Onii-Chan, Onii-Chan," Ryouta groaned slightly at the familiar voice and shaking of his shoulder, refusing to open his eyes, content in the comfort that the subway train's vibrations brought.

"Tsk. WAKE UP RANYO!" The near shout was accompanied by a sharp and carefully placed flick to his nose that caused his eyes to burst open and him to start erupting into uncontrollable sneezes.

"WHA- HACHOO, WHA-AH-AH-AHCHOO! THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, MOMO?!"

"It's rude to to ignore people when they're talking to you, especially when it's your super cute super sweet best little sister in the world." The young girl known as Hazuki Mochizuki, or Momo as she is better known, gave her older brother an unamused look from her seat next to him, twirling the lollipop in her mouth before turning her body back and folding her arms. As usual, the 14-year old's uniform was worn untidily, with her navy blue blazer unbuttoned, along with the top button of her blouse which was half tucked into her skirt while her red school ribbon hung loosely around her collar. Ryouta honestly felt that she spent more effort in consistently maintaining her bad girl, rowdy look than normal students spent tidying up their uniforms.

"What's up with you and dozing of lately, you go to sleep earlier than I do." Momo leaned back in an utterly un-ladylike manner with her arms stretched out on the top of the seats, but she at least had the modesty to cross her legs.

"I don't know, been feeling drowsy for no reason. Like one moment I'm wide awake, the next thing you know, I'm out the moment I blink."

"Maybe you should stop jacking off 8 times a day."

"Shut up, Momo."

"I say it cos I care, _Onii-Sama,_ " The last part was added with a sarcastic smirk before Momo stood up, used her foot to hook onto the straps of her school bag before launching it upwards and catching it with her shoulder.

"People are going to see you know." Ryouta scolded, exasperated with his sister's lack of femininity. Momo simply gave him a smug look and a peace sign.

"Hehe. They're called safety shorts. Maybe you should wear some to cover _your_ panties. Come on Ranyo, it's our stop." Momo skipped towards the nearest exit with her hands in the pockets of her blazer, her snowy white messy bob and white ribbons from her headband resembling cat ears bouncing with her movement. as the train slowed to a stop and Ryouta collected his belongings as well, trying not to notice a group of young girls, about the same age as Momo watching her with blushes on their faces.

 _Well she certainly attracts a_ _ **certain**_ _demographic I guess._

Ryouta joined his sister and the two exited the train, and then the station before beginning their walk home.

"Ne, ne, did you hear? There was another one of those weird deaths in Asakusa."

"I thought those were just rumors." Ryouta replied idly, not usually one to keep up with the news or current happenings. He usually had _other_ things on his mind. Momo shook her head before leaping up onto a low brick wall, walking along its top with perfect balance, even twirling a couple of times before walking backwards, facing her brother.

"Pretty sure an entire school dying would be hard to sell if it were just a rumor. They've been on the news, what rock have you been under." Momo twirled around once more, balancing on one foot while sticking out her right leg, catching the eye of more than one passerbys. She put her hands behind her head and started walking on the wall once more with large footsteps.

Ryouta took a quick look around and was not lost to the fact of multiple males, and females, taking sideways glances at his sister's slender and vanilla white legs under her dark thigh high socks while she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she was a beacon for attention.

"You really need to….." Ryouta trailed off as he suddenly became aware that something felt… wrong. He shot Momo a look and saw that she had stopped and her previously carefree attitude was now wary as she looked around cautiously. Ryouta looked around and saw that others had similar reactions and it was then he noticed that his surroundings seemed to have a red tinge to it. Like all the light just got filtered red.

"Momo, get down from there. Let's get out of here." Ryouta said with a slightly shaky voice. For once, his sister did not shoot back with a snarky reply and simply returned to his side. The two continued walking, at a much quicker pace, eager to leave the area and return home, but the feeling of dread did not seem to subside, nor did the red tinge to everything. The siblings stopped short when they both heard a scream.

"Wh- what was that?" It was one of the only times Ryouta had ever heard his sister scared. Momo was trying her best to keep her face straight, but even she couldn't completely mask the shakiness in her voice, nor the nervous look in her eyes.

"Let's not find out, come on." Desperate for the perceived safety of their home, the two started taking every shortcut they knew, over fences, through dark alleys, their pace only increased as they heard more and more screams. And then, the screams stopped, and the silence was pierced only by the sound of their footsteps. They both stopped, and listened.

"It's quiet."

"Oh, you think?" Momo snapped back, her adrenalin getting to her. The two were cut off suddenly by the sound of…. Hooves? They both turned simultaneously to the mouth of the alleyway where they heard the strange sound coming from. Both thought it sounded like the sound of a horse's hooves but that was impossible, a horse in the middle of Tokyo?

"Ryou-Nii, let's go." Momo whispered gravely, having a horrible feeling about the sound as she slowly backed up, tugging on Ryouta's shirt. Ryouta started slowly backing away as well, when a ghastly mist seemed to seep through the entrance of the dark alley, the red tinge growing more intense. It was then that they saw a dark figure, a silhouette really, illuminated by red light from behind move into the entrance. Ryouta could not make out the details properly from the distance and lack of light, but he could vaguely tell that it would appear to be a massive man, clad in heavy armor with a fur cloak around his neck, and an equally bulky helmet with a pair of horns protruding from the top, riding atop a pitch black horse with glowing red eyes. Ryouta could not tell if it was the red tinge or if the ghostly knight's armor was indeed a deep maroon. The Knight seemed to be holding something in his free hand, his left gauntlet clutching both a massive dripping sword as well as the reins of his mount.

 _Wait… Dripping?_

Ryouta squinted and saw that the sword was indeed drenched in some sort of liquid that was dripping from its edges. It was then that the Knight turned its helmet to look at them, the eye holes shrouding all of his face in pure darkness, save for a pair of red glows, near identical to those of his horse. Ryouta met the Knight's eyes and froze and the red light around the Knight seemed to grow brighter, and Ryouta could finally make out what was in the Knights other hand, something he would forever wish to unsee. It was the head of an elderly man, one Ryouta personally recognized, having seen him many times on his path home, missing his body with his face frozen in an eternal terror with a red liquid was splattered all over.

"Ryouta, let's GO, NOW!" Momo screamed and pulled her brother out of his stupor, and Ryouta finally recognized the situation. The two siblings broke into a run, sprinting down the narrow alleyway when they heard the loud neighing of the horse and its hooves broke into a run after them.

"We can't outrun it!" Ryouta shouted to his sister, something she had evidently already thought of from the way she frantically scanned the walls for an alternative route.

"There!" Momo pointed to an open window with a small balcony about 4 meters above the ground ahead of them. The two desperately dashed for their lives, Ryouta barely able to keep up with his nimble sister, but they could both hear the Knight getting closer and closer. Momo jumped towards the wall opposite the window, before kicking off it, propelling herself towards the window that was to be their gate to safe haven. She deftly hooked her legs around the railing and hung herself upside down before reaching out to her brother.

Not needing to be told twice, Ryouta made his own jump, grabbing her arms, causing her to emit a sharp scream in pain as his weight strained her small body, before she used all of her abdominal strength to elevate Ryouta slightly, high enough that he could grab the railing himself, before he quickly pulled himself up, right before the Knight reached below them. Momo swiftly bent her body upright, grabbing the top of the railing right as the Knight swung his sword, barely missing the top of her head, before she unhooked her legs and flipped herself over the railing. The two siblings collapsed next to each other, panting, while Momo grimaced in pain, her entire body feeling a painful stretch from having to support the weight of her brother who was almost 20 kg heavier than her. The young free-runner was known for her speed and agility, not her less than mediocre strength.

"Th-Th-Thanks, Momo."

Momo gave her brother a weak thumbs up, not even opening her eyes, and too winded for words. However, their reprieve was not to last when they heard a loud crashing, like a wrecking ball hitting a brick wall, and both their eyes shot open. Before they had time to react, a massive blade erupted from the plaster floor, slicing into the edge of Momo's right thigh, splitting her socks and causing bright red blood to splatter the floor.

Momo shrieked and recoiled from the wound, rolling away and scrambling to her feet as best she could as the blade retracted, while she squeezed on her wound with her hands, trying to stop the bleeding, whimpering in fear and pain. Ryouta jumped to his feet as well, pulling his wounded sister from the middle of the room as the sword burst upwards once more. They both backed up and Momo almost toppled over mid-limp, crying out in pain. Ryouta took a glance and it seemed like the wound was not too deep, but clearly enough that Momo would not be able to move on her own.

"We gotta go."

Ryouta scooped his sister up in a princess carry and kicked open the door of the small apartment room they had found themselves in, before racing down the hallway. He heard crashing and the sound of hooves and armor clanking echo down through the building before coming to a set of stairs. Clearly, downstairs was out of the question, and that left up. Ryouta raced up the stairwell, forgetting his exhaustion when he heard the door on the ground floor crash open. Ryouta looked down at Momo, and saw that she had bitten her lip hard enough that it was now bleeding, as she forced herself to keep from whimpering and her eyes were squeezed shut.

"Hang on, kiddo, we're getting out of here, I promise."

Momo forced her eyes open and gave her brother a weak smile.

"Who're you calling kiddo, 17-year old grandpa," Her voice came out as weak croak before closing her eyes once more, but she somehow managed to retain her wit, even in their current predicament and her condition. Ryouta gave the most reassuring smile he could, but even he knew that he was nothing of the sort, no matter how hard he tried. He never was. Ryouta wished he had even a fraction of his sister's strength.

"FUCK!"

Ryouta cried out, both to vent his frustrations and in response to the sounds of the Knight quickly catching up to them.

 _How the fuck is that thing even moving around in here?! THIS IS CRAZY!_

They finally reached the rooftop and Ryouta burst through the door, shoulder first, careful to keep Momo clear of any obstructions, before setting her down as gently and quickly as he could before slamming the door closed. There was a metal cabinet next to the door, presumably housing tools for the rooftop garden he saw in the corner of his eye. Ryouta pulled on the cabinet as hard as he could, toppling it in front of the door.

"That won't hold him long." Ryouta noted to himself, now desperately scanning for anyway to get to an adjacent rooftop. However, now that he had a vantage point, he saw a sight that made his heart lurch.

"What…. Is this…" He hadn't noticed it before, in their scramble to return home, but there seemed to be a form of fog shaping a cylinder around them, spreading across a radius of almost 500 meters, almost like a barrier. From where they were, they seemed to be close to the edge and it became apparent to Ryouta that even without the Knight's attack, they would not have been able to return home without venturing into the fog. Ryouta snapped out of his stupor, sorely aware that his current priority was keeping his sister and himself alive. He ran along the edge of the roof, trying to find a spot where he could make a jump while carrying his sister. Under normal circumstances, Momo could have made any of these jumps easily, even those Ryouta could not, but that was clearly not an option at the moment. He finally found a spot that he felt he could make, and ran back to pick up his sister, who had propped herself up against the fence around the water tank.

Ryouta made his way back to the jump with his sister, a nagging anxiety biting at him.

"It's too quiet. That thing should have reached the roof by now."

Ryouta pushed the concern out of his mind, deciding that regardless, he needed to get them off the roof. Ryouta poised himself for the jump, standing of the danger side of the railing, when suddenly the ground immediately behind him exploded, with the shockwave and debris sending the two flying across with a pair of screams. The two landed apart from one another, and Ryouta felt his arm dislocate as he slammed into the rooftop on his side, continuing to roll another good 8 meters. Ryouta grimaced and blinked through the intense pain looking around and found his sister, lying on her side as well with her eyes closed, blood trickling from her forehead and pooling around her thigh.

"Mo-Momo…" Ryouta breathed weakly as he heard a loud thud, before turning to see the dark Knight towering over the both of them. He dismounted and gave them both a careful look, glowing red eyes ever dispassionate as he stomped over to Momo's limp body.

"G… Get away from her, you bastard." Ryouta gritted his teeth, his voice but a mere whisper, however, his words were not lost on the Knight, who gave him a look, before a chuckle echoed from its helmet, his deep voice seeming to have multiple layers and dripped with sinister intent.

"Quite the fiery spirit you have. I quite like that kind of spunk." The Knight reached down and plucked Momo from the ground by the neck, his massive hand covering the entirety of its slender form as her body hung limp.

 _No… She can't be…._

Ryouta gasped as his eyes widened, refusing to believe that his sister was lost.

"Hmmm, this one is quite the fighter as well, a tough one she is. I do like a woman who is hard to kill." The Knight chuckled mockingly.

"Le…. let her go." Ryouta reached out his good arm weakly as he watched the Knight tighten his grip ever so slightly. Ryouta knew that it would not take much more for him to snap Momo's delicate neck in two.

"What the hell do you want with us?!" The boy cried out desperately, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. The Knight eyed him curiously as steam escaped his steed's nostrils.

"You see before today, I was much like you. Just a weak soul, to be trampled on by those above me. A life of servitude, abuse. I put in so much effort, but for what. For others to claim the credit, to continue living a life in rejection?" The Knight launched into a monologue.

"Ah my idiotic older brother, Itsuya. Always had an extra chromosome. And yet, everyone loved him. He had an endless line of friends, revered by the adults, always leaving me in his shadow. Tatsuya, why can't you be more like your brother, Tatsuya do this, Tatsuya do that, why are you such a disappointment Tatsuya." The Knights voice began to wrap in rage and his grip tightened around Momo's neck, causing Ryouta to panic, knowing he had to do something fast.

"And what is it with girls going for the stupid ones. Do I NEED to have an IQ in the single digits to be attractive?!" His voice seemed frantic now and Ryouta could have sworn he heard the Knight's voice break.

"But no more. That wimp, Tatsuya is dead. Now I have power. I am strong. I AM A GREAT AND CHIVALROUS KNIGHT! ELIGOR!" The Knight, Eligor, reached out with both his arms in a triumphant pose, even while Momo remained in his clutches.

"You, strong? Don't make such stupid jokes." Ryouta chuckled, stunning Eligor.

"What did you just say?"

"What, can't you hear me through that stupid helmet of yours? Or is that your thick skull?" Ryouta felt his heart punching at his ribcage, tapping into every bit of sass that he'd ever learned from Momo to try and draw Eligor's attention from her and onto himself, knowing that it was a futile gesture, but unwilling to simply watch his sister die. It worked. Eligor dropped Momo's limp body and she crumpled to the ground, before his hand rested on the grip of his sword.

"I was once powerless, true, but no longer. With this strength, I can cut through ANYONE who stands in my way! Oh, Ako-Chan, sweet Ako-Chan, if only you could see me now. You'd throw your arms around me without a moment's hesitation. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO FOR THAT SWINE OF A BROTHER OF MINE?! KNOWING HOW I FELT, HE STILL STOLE YOU FROM ME, AND DARED TO CALL HIMSELF MY OLDER BROTHER! THAT'S WHY I KILLED THEM, YOU SEE, TORE ITSUYA'S SPINE RIGHT OUT OF HIS BACK! AND SWEET AKO, SPLIT APART CLEANLY AT THE BELLY! I TOOK SUCH CARE TO MAKE SURE NOT TO DAMAGE THE IMPORTANT PARTS! BUT EVERYONE, THEY WOULDN'T STOP SCREAMING, EVEN AFTER I TOLD, NO, COMMANDED THEM TO STOP! SO I KILLED THEM TOO! ALL SHALL SUBMIT OR DIE! FOR I AM NOBLE! FOR I AM THE STRONGEST OF -" Eligor's dramatic and insane speech was cut off by dry laughter, and he turned a rage-filled glare at it's source, Ryouta, who was struggling to contain himself.

"My god, I'm sorry but, holy shit that takes the cake ah hahahahahaha. So let me guess, you get picked on in school, and decide to go on massacre the moment you get power, and now you're announcing that you're some kind of noble knight? How have I not seen you on the comedy channel?"

"Silence, you impertinent mongrel! I will rip your tongue from your mouth as easy as snapping my fing-"

"Then do it you sad piece of shit. Sure beats having to listen to your sorry voice. God, here I thought I was a loser but man, you take the cake." Eligor was silent, and simply started moving towards Ryouta, drawing his sword.

"I will see you suffer, peasant." Eligor's voice was now a low growl as he slowly stomped over, deliberately savoring the moment. Ryouta simply rolled onto his back and stared tiredly at the sky.

 _At least I got to look cool at the end._ Ryouta gave a sad smile.

 _Is that it? Will you simply lay down and accept death like a dog, knowing your dear sister will soon follow?_

 _What?_

Ryouta's eyes widened, as a voice echoed in his head.

 _Will you accept it? Accept that she who never gave up, despite facing hardships you could never know, she who remained fighting to the bitter end would have it all end because of your weakness?_

 _No…._

 _Is it alright then? That you will die as you are now, as weak as you were the day before, the week before, or even the year. Will you simply give up? Will you die wearing the same mask you have worn all your life? Will you accept all that is wrong in this world?_

 _NO!_

 ***Queue Persona 5 OST - Awakening***

Ryouta's pupils shrunk, as he felt his body suddenly erupt in fire, every inch of him burning and his mind felt like it was about to explode. Ryouta being writhing about in agony, screaming in pain, the physical hurt on his body completely dwarfed by the immense agony within him, like something was clawing its way out from his core.

 _And so I have heard your call. Are you ready to face your demons, ready to fight for your life, your right to walk amongst the living?_

 _Yes._

The thought in his mind was oddly calm in contrast to his screams.

 _Very well, your words have been heard. I am Thou… Thou art I… (Ware wa Nanji… Nanji wa Ware…) You have vowed to face the shadows that lurk within, a mask for one who despises masks. Death was never in your path today, nor in hers. Call upon me, and release thy rage. Unleash your strength and teach the pretender the true meaning of POWER!_

All the while, Ryouta felt as though his own heart was digging its way through his chest, his pain, insurmountable. And yet, he felt strength flowing through his body as he slowly gritted himself against his pain, clawing himself to his feet, before staring down Eligor who was now right in front of him, giving the false Knight a smirk as he raised his blade. Ryouta's eyes burned a brilliant gold as he uttered his words, right as Eligor brought down his sword.

"Miyamoto. Mushashi."

A great flash of light burst in front of him as Eligor's blade was knocked aside by another, far larger one, the grinding of metal on metal causing the flash. Eligor flinched and backed up slightly, his eyes no longer on Ryouta but above him. Ryouta did not even need to turn to know what it was that Eligor was looking at in newfound trepidation.

"Wh-What sorcery is this?!" Eligor's voice now held a sense of nervousness while Ryouta seemed to have lost all doubt from his heart.

"Sorcery? No. My heart, out for a vengeance. My Persona." Ryouta gave Eligor a confident smirk and tilt of his head, a massive humanoid figure, slightly taller than Eligor even while he rode on his horse, towered over Ryouta like a guardian, wielding a massive katana with a black hilt, without a handguard, that seemed far too large even for its large figure in its right hand, and a shorter wooden sword, thicker than its first blade dominated its left. Its body was covered in a dark crimson hakama jacket with brown sleeves tucked into a pair of steel gauntlets at its elbows, a pair of leather straps wrapped around its biceps. The jacket opened up just below its waist at the front, its tails blowing back in the gale from its summoning, while a dark obi kept its body tight around its hips. A pair of black trousers encased in metal armor around the hips and groin shrouded its legs, ending in a pair of black sandals.

* **Queue Persona 5 OST - Will Power***

"Now then, let's dance." Ryouta taunted, causing Eligor to quiver indignantly, his swollen pride clearly damaged. Eligor leaped into the air right as his horse arrived below him, and he landed once more on his mount, revving up in a battle cry before charging once more. Miyamoto Mushashi flew forward in a gust of wind, his blazer now fitted him more tightly, and also not resembling more of a coat, with a pair of tails trailing in the wind, its linings rimmed in a glowing red light. The same linings extended down the length of his pants, but his shoes were now a pair of shin high boots, with the same red linings. The blazer's collar was now higher but both it and his shirt were now unbuttoned, revealing his undershirt. The awakening seemed to have healed his wounds and he rushed over to Momo's side while Miyamoto Mushashi parried with Eligor. He brought his sister into his arms, pressing his ear into her chest and was flooded with relief at the sound of a faint but stable heartbeat.

"Don't worry, we'll be outta this soon." He turned his gaze to the fight ensuing, right as his Persona dodged a forward thrust by Eligor, spinning around and slamming his left sword into the Eligor's side, sending the Knight flying into the ground, before Miyamoto did another spin and his massive blade sliced cleanly through the horse's neck, causing it to give one last agonized neigh before bursting into dark shadow. Eligor groaned and got back to his feet.

"How is this possible?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Eligor stopped short as Ryouta moved next to his Persona, his sister in his arms.

"For all your fake bravado, you're just as weak as you were before. You're just another asshole." Enraged and desperate, Eligor made one last lunge towards them, only for his blade to be knocked out of his hand by a swing of Miyamoto's Right. Unfazed, the Fallen Knight threw his left gauntlet forward in a fist, only for Miyamoto to crouch under it, before slamming the hilt of his left into Eligor's abdomen, causing the Knight to fall to his knees at last, before a metal blade was brought to bare next to his neck and he froze.

Ryouta moved in front of him and gave the Knight an impassive look and Eligor gave one last look of defiance before finally admitting defeat.

"Ahhh. Fine, I yield. I guess you were right. I am weak after all." Eligor gave a defeated chuckle and looked Ryouta right in the eye. However, Ryouta's reply shocked him.

"And what's wrong with that? As long as you always keep at it, trying to get stronger, what's wrong with being weak? But you, you killed people."

"Even though, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, nothing changes, and nothing goes your way?" Eligor asked.

"You know, I know a girl who was dealt a way worse hand than either of us. She's probably been through more than either of us." Ryouta looked down and brushed a stray strand of hair from Momo's forehead, the vanilla colored girl sleeping quietly in his arms.

"She's had to fight battles that blokes like us could never know, even as a little girl. But I've never seen her give up once, never seen her stop fighting. She's probably still fighting right now. Her battles might never end, and she may never find what she's looking for, and I think she knows that better than anyone. But still, she fights on, never looking back. I've never seen her try to hide who she is, she wears herself on her sleeves to a fault, never needing a mask. Always so honest and true to herself, even brutally so. Maybe it seems stupid and foolhardy, but to me…. To me, it seems beautiful. And I wish everyday I could be a little more like her." Ryouta smiled softly, and while Eligor's expression was masked under his helmet, his eyes were notably softer. The Knight looked away and sighed.

"I've been a real loser, haven't I." Eligor seemed to glow in a soft blue light as Ryouta took a step back, somehow knowing it was not a threat. As the light faded slightly, Ryouta saw that in the place of the Fallen Knight, Eligor, was now a young teenaged boy, about in between his and Momo's age, with scruffy looking hair and round glasses, clad in a school uniform. The boy turned to Ryouta and smiled sadly, with tears running down his cheeks.

"I'll just have to make things right." With that, the glow seemed to grow to a blinding brightness and Ryouta had to shield his eyes, but right as he lost vision, he caught a brief glimpse of a blue butterfly in the corner of his eye and a polite female voice echoed in his head.

 _I guess I was wrong. Maybe you are the one after all._

Ryouta barely had time to register that the voice was familiar before his mind went blank.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Onii-Chan, Onii-Chan, Mushi Mush, Ranyo-San?" Ryouta blinked and was snapped back to reality, before he looked around in utter confusion. No longer was he on the rooftop, but on the familiar street that he and Momo walked home everyday. The same street that the whole experience had started.

"Eh? Eh?!" Ryouta spun around spotting people around him going about their usual business, as though nothing had happened at all.

"Ne, Onii-Chan, you feeling okay?" Ryouta gasped and threw his head around to face the source of the voice, finding Momo standing atop a short brick wall, gazing down at him with a worried look.

"Mo..Mo…." Ryouta stared in disbelief at his sister's utter lack of injuries. Momo jumped down and eyed him sideways, giving him a weird look.

"You're being weird, Ranyo." Alas, it would not be Momo without her undying sass.

"MOMO!"

"Eh?" Momo's eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as Ryouta launched himself at his sister, wrapping her in his arms and clutching her tight while Momo's hands hung in the air, a look of utter confusion on her face as she glanced around awkwardly at the eyes that their spectacle was attracting.

"Dude, what the fuck?! Let me go! People are staring!"

"You'reokayyou'reokayyou'reokay, thankgodthankgod!" Ryouta could not stop rambling from the relief he felt at seeing his sister safe.

"Okay, Ranyo, you're being VERY weird, and I mean even more than usual." Momo awkwardly returned the hug, hoping that it would get Ryouta to let go but when that didn't work, she finally lost her patience and kneed her brother right in the groin with a flush on her face.

"I SAID LET GO!" Ryouta yelped in pain and fell over onto his back, clutching his precious jewels and opened one eye to see Momo standing with her legs pressed together, with her chest turned away from him and her arms covering it.

"I'm your SISTER for the love of god! I know I'm adopted but holy shit, control yourself, you incestous pervert! Aberration! Enemy of Women! KONNO HENTAI!" With that, the girl stomped off indignantly leaving Ryouta lying on the floor trying his best to fathom what was going on.

 _Was that all just a daydream?_

As though in answer to his thoughts, a familiar voiced rang in his ear.

"I'm so sorry! I was just always so jealous of you! I always felt like I would always be second choice to you! I know I was stupid, but I couldn't help myself! I'm so sorry, I hope you two live a happy life with me out of the way!" Ryouta pulled himself up and peeked over the wall to the source of the commotion and gasped when he saw the familiar face of a young boy in glasses bowed down before a pair of very awkward looking students, a boy and a girl. The boy spoke first and he seemed to be trying to find the proper words.

"Urm, ah…. This is very… sudden." He said lamely while rubbing the base of his neck and shot his female companion a look, who returned it before giving him a smile and a nod. The boy then smiled and nodded back.

"Tatsuya. I always thought you lacked confidence but I never knew it was this bad, least of all that it was because of me." The bespectacled boy, Tatsuya looked up to face him.

"How do I put this…. I'll admit there are things I'm better than you at, but you know, it's not like you have to constantly compare yourself to me or anything. There are a whole bunch of things you can do better than me. You're good in school, you're well-mannered, hell you can even cook. There's no need for you to feel inferior to me in any way. And another thing. There's nothing between Ako and I."

"Eh?" Tatsuya seemed genuinely confused.

"But the other day, I saw you both at that restaurant together…" It was the girl, Ako's turn to speak as she let out an embarrassed giggle.

"You see the thing is, Itsuya-San reached out to me asking if we could talk, telling me he was your brother. He told me about how you lacked confidence and if left to yourself, would never be able to confess your feelings. He told me that despite that, you were really a good guy on the inside, and asked if I could give you a chance and if I could drop some hints to nudge you along." Ako said with a blush while twiddling her fingers.

Tatsuya remained stunned, before his lip started to tremble and he could no longer stop the flow of tears before crumbling to his knees and released his emotions. His brother, Itsuya, smiled softly and lowered himself down and held his brother to him, allowing him to cry to his heart's content.

Ryouta simply watched the scene unfold in utter disbelief, before noticing a blue butterfly with ornate designs on its wings flutter past him. He stared at it and watched it fly off with his lips parted, before a smile played across his lips.

"Persona, huh?"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mikoto watched the teenaged boy get to his feet and move to catch up with his female companion from her position, leaning with her arms folded in the shadows of the alleyway. She'd decided to handle the Fracture as a way to kill time, usually never bothering with any that did not suit her goals. And yet, never had she expected that she would witness the awakening of a Persona. She knew there were others, met a couple even, but the only awakening she had ever witnessed was her own. Moreover, while she had watched the events unfold, she had also sensed the presence of another, like her, watching from the shadows. And yet, when the Fracture dissolved, that other was nowhere to be found.

Mikoto moved off, heading for the train station, music blaring through her headphones with her hands stuck in her hoodie's pockets.

 _Whatever. Doesn't concern me one bit._

 ***Queue ED 1: Blow Out by Konomi Suzuki***

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	4. OC List V2 (Updated June 3rd)

**Character List:**

Party Members:

The Fool- Hazuki Ryouta "Hero" CV: Natsuki Hanae by ShinBP [Shinkiro High School]

The Magician- Mashiro Taiga "Witch" CV: Mizuki Nana by Awesome D.T [Ayuzawa Academy of the Arts]

The Devil- Kazeyama Shin "Zephyr" CV: Saito Soma by Shadowplayer360 [Shinkiro High School]

The Empress- Jackal D. Sariio Sixx "Anubis" CV: Ami Koshimizu by Fool Arcana Kaiju [Shinkiro High School]

The Emperor- Shiroyama Kazuo "Angel" CV: Yamaguchi Kappei by Blue Atom09974 [Shinkiro High School]

The Priestess- Sato Chiyoko "Crosshair" CV: Ishikawa Yui by Zerokai9 [Meijin Girl's Academy]

The Justice- Onodera Mitsuha "Lily" CV: Hanazawa Kana by arans [Ayuzawa Academy of the Arts]

The Moon- Nakayama Luka "Misfit" CV: Shinichiro Miki by BloodStarGeneral [Shinkiro High School]

Confidants:

The Hierophant-

The Lover- Haruka Skye CV: Rumi Ookubo [Harajuku Meiko Junior High]

The Chariot- Hazuki "Momo" Mochizuki "BiriBiri" CV: Amamiya Sora [Harajuku Meiko Junior High]

The Hermit- Sakurai Daichi "Rogue" CV: Morikubo Shotaro by TheAmazingSwolfie [Shinkiro High School]

The Fortune-

The Strength-

The Hanged Man- Alayna Vadas "Gladiator" CV: Sanada Asami by Outcast001 [Shinkiro High School]

The Death- Yuuki Mikoto "Maverick" CV: Fujita Akane [Meijin Girl's Academy]

The Temperance-

The Tower- Kimura Aki "Tensai" CV: Namikawa Daisuke by RosyMiranto18 [Shinkiro High School]

The Star- Nishitani Koume CV: Sayami Haori by Chiaki Ebooks

The Sun-

The Judgment- Akane Hana "Apex" CV: Taneda Risa [Meijin Girl's Academy]

Arcanas with "?" next to them are not open and already have characters assigned to them.

Characters with no stated creators are my own plot-centric characters.

 **This is the character list as of now and I will constantly update this page whenever I accept new characters. A few things I should mention that I should have mentioned before.**

 **When submitting OCs, please submit them with the topic "Fracture - OC Name - Arcana" I forgot to mention this before as I haven't done an SYOC in quite a while and sorting out the characters was a logistics hell.**

 **3.I am no longer accepting Persona users for Confidants.**

 **4\. Oh yes, in the original summary, I screwed up and accidentally wrote Shogi as Shoji, which might have lead to some confusion. Do take note that it is in face Shogi and that Shoji is a typo. Thanks to RosyMinato18 for letting me know.**

 **5\. I should have mentioned this before, but as I have told some of you, I wait till I have a pool of OCs before going through them before I choose who to accept and who not to, and as such. Unless I specifically give someone a spot, or ask someone to create an OC for me (and this only applies to my close friends on FF from prior fandoms) I do not reserve spots for anyone.**

 **Due to having a large number of Shinkiro High applicants, and an abundant number of Meijin Academy Applicants, I am now only accepting OCs for the other two schools. However, if your OC goes to a middle school or elementary school (In the case of Confidants) you do not need to include a school. Just say what kind of school they are in.**

 **7.I feel that I should further emphasize that non-Persona users are not required to be students and can be children or adults as well.**

 **8.I'm saving the Magician slot for a good friend of mine who was one of my first friends on FanFiction.**

 **If your OC's CV is listed as undetermined, it means the seiyuu that you have chosen for your OC has already been taken. You may either choose someone else or I can give them a seiyuu whom I feel fits them.**

 **As of today, 25th May, I will be leaving on a trip to Japan until the 8th of June and while I will be bringing my laptop, I will probably not be checking it actively, so just a heads up.**

 **Also , finally, do forgive me if I do not reply to messages or reply very late as I am rather busy and tend to lose track of who I've replied to and who I have not and sometimes do not have time and forget to reply altogether. Rest assured that even if I do not reply, I do read every application sent to me, as I compile them into google docs where I can organize them. I'm also not the most talkative person around and can come off as cold and distant due to my personality, so I do apologize if anyone feels offended. I try to be as friendly as I can but I'm something of a socially awkward potato and could really use a "How to Talk to People for Dummies"**

ლ(¯ロ¯"ლ)

 **That's about all I can think of right now. I will try to get the first chapter out during my night times when I'm in my room while in Japan, but if not, I will probably get it out the week I return.**


	5. Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole

***Insert Velvet Room Music***

Ryouta blinked his eyes open and stared into the vast ceiling.

 _This place again._

Recognizing the familiar surroundings, the Velvet Room if he recalled correctly, Ryouta sat up on the stage and turned his audience, the familiar pair of Igor and Lavenza, as Igor eyed him with what Ryouta thought might have been a pleased expression, but found it impossible to know for sure with Igor's odd face and seemingly permanent grin. Lavenza was as before, paying him no heed and flipping through her large book.

"Welcome, once more, to my Velvet Room. We have been expecting you, Ryouta-Kun."

Ryouta gave a sheepish smile, unsure of the proper response, and absently rubbed the back of his hair while looking away slightly.

"I'm still not sure that I'm not just going completely bonkers. First this place, then that whole… I don't even know what to call it…."

"Ah yes, a remarkable performance, I must say."

Ryouta stopped short and glanced curiously at Igor.

"How do you…"

"I will admit, maybe you do have _some_ potential after all. The way you handled that situation… It wasn't horrible, I suppose." Lavenza delivered her words with her signature lack of concern, her expressionless gaze seeming to seep right into Ryouta. Ryouta blinked as the cogs clicked together and he came upon a realization.

"That butterfly… That was you?" Ryouta uttered in disbelief. Lavenza did not reply and simply turned her attention back to her book.

"Now then, we are rather short on time, as you may only remain in this room for as long as you are asleep and shall we say that time flows differently in one's sleep. I believe you have a great many questions but I believe we should start with the most important, that being your Persona."

Ryouta stopped short at the word "Persona" realizing instantly that this man clearly had a lot more information than he did.

"Persona… That's the name of the power that saved my sister and me. Miyamoto Musashi. That was its name. But how do I know that? One moment nothing was there and then suddenly I just _know_ these things."

"Ah, an enigmatic power indeed. I shan't confuse you with long-winded technicalities, but put simply, your Persona is a manifestation born from your heart, your resolve if you will. Yours was born from your overwhelming desire to protect your sister, yet I do not believe that you have completely faced yourself yet."

"Faced… Myself?"

"You see, a person awakens their Persona when they are able to face the deepest depths of their hearts and accept themselves. However, your case seemed rather special. As is the nature of the Fool."

"The Fool?" Ryouta could not help but feel slightly insulted.

"Are you familiar with tarot cards?"

Ryouta was caught of guard to find the words coming from Lavenza instead, who was now staring at him.

"Urm, a little? I know they're used in fortune telling." Lavenza nodded and tapped the hardcover of her book, before it lit up in glowing arcane runes as it floated into the air and its pages started flipping on their own, facing Ryouta.

"This is the Compendium, a record of Arcana. Each tarot card is represented by an Arcana, The Fool, The Magician, The Lover and so on. Likewise, Personas seem to be represented in the same way. You are The Fool. The Zero. The one who is empty." Ryouta felt the slight sting from Lavenza's unrestrained words but chose to remain silent.

"The Fool has always been one of special circumstance, one who would start on their journey. This symbolizes that your story has only just begun. You must connect with others and develop Social Links across your journey in order to strengthen yourself, and perhaps one day, you will no longer be The Fool of Zero."

Ryouta could physically feel his brain start a meltdown.

"Somehow I feel like I know even less than I did before…"

Lavenza sighed in annoyance while Igor simply chuckled.

"It will become clear in time. But for now, that is all we have time for today. The next time you enter here, it shall be by your own will. Curtains please."

Ryouta was about to ask what that meant but the great velvet curtains came down, dropping him into darkness once more.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 ***Insert OP1: Tragedy Eternity by Myth & Roid**

 ***4 days later***

"Hazuki-Kun."

Ryouta's eyes shot open and as his consciousness began to collect itself, he felt a faint wetness on his cheek. He raised his head from his desk in a disorientated fashion, his drowsy mind swimming to determine what class he had fallen asleep in. His vision cleared to find the majority of his classmates giving him sideways glances and snickering. Ryouta felt the color rush to his face but used all of his willpower to force it down, instead trying his best to play it cool, turning a smile to his teacher, whom he now saw was his math and homeroom teacher, Amano-Sensei.

"Yes, Sensei?" He said in the most innocent voice he could master, hoping to use some of his self-perceived "charm" to wriggle his way out of this situation. Amano-Sensei, however, decided that two could play at that game. Her stern expression changed to a sweet smile as she tilted her head, acting much too young for her true age.

"Neee, Hazuki-Kuuun. Did you fall asleep in my class again? That's not good, you need to pay attention to lessons, or you won't do well for exams." Amano-Sensei chimed in a sickeningly accurate impression of a high-school girl attempting to act cute to have her way with a pout. Ryouta gulped and felt sweat rolling down his forehead from how immensely awkward the atmosphere had become.

"No-not at all, Sensei, I mean urm, I wasn't, well I was, urm ah….." Ryouta found himself at a complete loss for a response, lamenting on how his younger sister would have had 50 different perfectly constructed sassy responses ready to fire with complete confidence if she were in his place. He finally gave in, accepting that he was not a master of wit like Momo was.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again…" Ryouta mumbled in a soft voice while staring at his desk.

Amano-Sensei decided to go in for the finishing blow.

"Well then, if you reaaaally feel bad about it, then you wouldn't mind completing double of today's homework, hmm?"

 _Great..._

"No problems at all…" Ryouta sighed in defeat while Amano-Sensei returned to her lesson, looking much too pleased with herself. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and turned to see his table partner, a rather tall boy at a few centimeters taller than Ryouta's 172cm though built much more slender, Kazeyama Shin gave him smile of empathy, his pitch colored hair slightly covering the right of his pair of slightly tilted sea green eyes.

"A moment of silence for the latest to fall prey to the Shinkiro Cougar." His whispered remark earned him a couple of snickers around him, and even Ryouta himself had to give a small smile to that.

"Go stuff it, Shin." The boy in question chuckled before leaning back into his seat, resting the back of his head onto his arms under his dark ponytail. Ryouta returned to pretending to listen to the mundane lesson and resting his cheek onto his left palm, his messy yet straight chocolate hair dancing around slightly from the movement.

 _There goes tonight's plans for dungeon raiding. This crazy cougar's workloads are brutal as is..._

Ryouta sighed and mumbled to himself.

"I can already tell today's gonna be a shitty day…"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Momo yawned sleepily, bathing in the contrasting lukewarm sunlight and chilly breeze of Tokyo's April, lying on her back with her eyes closed and legs crossed, something that she only did due to having it drilled into her by her adoptive mother. Hazuki Tsukasa, or as Momo nicknamed her, Tsunkasa, was quite the…. overwhelming woman. Momo shuddered at the memory of the last time she was dragged to Shibuya and had dozens of dresses that they clearly could not afford forced onto her for Tsunkasa's viewing pleasure. That was what happened when the only female of a family, who always wanted a daughter finally got one. The woman had an incredibly unhealthy obsession with "princess-ifying" her adoptive daughter, resulting in Momo's severe fear of the color pink and frilly clothing. Her trauma was so great that it greatly contributed to Momo's choice of her perfectly sculpted bad girl look.

"SKYE-CHAN! SKY SKY! SKYRU!"

Momo gritted her teeth in annoyance, a vein threatening to pop in her forehead as the sounds of cheers and chanting drilled through even the maxed out volume of the music in her ear pieces. Ironically, the song playing at the moment was sung by the same person subject to the near cult-like chanting. Momo did not know the details but she had gathered that after a long tour, a certain rookie idol (Also simultaneously somehow the current ranked 1 idol in Japan) by the name of Haruka Skye was finally returning to school, and even Momo was rather shocked to find out that despite barely ever showing up due to her career, Haruka Skye was actually a student in her school. Momo did not know nor care much, but the noise was threatening to step on her last nerve. Momo had no problem with the idol herself, Momo even had a number of her songs on her playlist, despite not being much into her genre, however, her fan base was quite possibly one of the most cancerous that Momo had ever seen, and Momo was a frequent member of numerous meme sites. The legions of obsessive fans seemed to treat her like some kind of goddess and were almost more like a religion than a fanbase.

Finally Momo gave up and started throwing a tantrum in her solace, childishly kicking her legs around and turning left and right on her back.

"AHHHHH URUSAI URUSAI URUSAI!" Unfortunately, her shouts were drowned out by the massive crowd swarming the school gates as teachers and even some police officers barely kept them from storming the school.

"What the heck happened to school security." Momo sighed, leaping to her feet in one smooth motion, a feat only made possible by her impressive abdominal muscles. She moved to the far back end of the roof and rested her chin on the railing, staring out with eyes that indicated that she was just so done with everything, idly waiting for the bell to ring so she could grab her bag from her classroom once her teacher left and blow the joint, having skipped class since lunchtime. Alas, the dismissal bell rang as music to her ears, and she decided to give it a few minutes in case her teacher was lying in wait for her, flipping herself over the railing before hanging over the edge by the tip of her feet and her grip on the railing, the dangerous act not fazing her in the slightest.

"Sigh…. I almost miss living like a rat…."

Momo stared at the back wall of the school grounds with boredom. As much as she treasured her current life and not struggling just to stay alive from day to day, a part of her could not deny that she secretly missed the thrill of living life on the edge, her only obligation to herself. In a way, she had been free.

A sudden movement caught Momo's eye. She saw one of the second floor windows from the facilities building open slowly before a small. The facilities building was closer to the back side of the school grounds due to the 3 wings having been built in a U shape around the square and field, and thus Momo had a good vantage view of the side facing the square.

A small head of auburn hair stuck itself out from the window and took a cautious look around. Momo could not really make out the details due to distance, but she could vaguely tell that it was a girl. After seeming to decide the coast was clear, the girl disappeared for a moment before reappearing vaulting over the window, now with her school bag over her shoulder. Momo also let go from the shock and was about to scream with her eyes wide open when the girl spun in mid air and grabbed the pipe lining the wall, stopping her drop before carefully but skillfully climbing down. Momo stared in awe, rather impressed by the display of agility as the girl reached the ground, carefully checked her surroundings once more before quickly putting on her mary janes and a beret that she pulled out from her bag, before making a dash for the school wall which was a good 2 meters high, leapt and kicked off upwards before vaulting straight over.

Momo whistled before lifting her body up on her arms before throwing her legs back over the railing.

"I might have some competition." She remarked with a smirk before making her way to the stairwell and back to her classroom. She made sure that her teacher her left before slinking into her classroom, making a break for her seat, her bag sitting right where she left it. Just as she grabbed the straps of her bag, she heard a cough from behind her that caused her to freeze in place, her head turning slowly in an almost clockwork motion with a mortified expression on her features. A tall female figure with dark permed hair wearing a white office dress leaned against the doorway that she had just come through, arms folded with a smirk on her face.

"Ara, look who decided to join the class at last." Yura-Sensei chimed deceptively cheerfully, her sweet smile hiding the monster that Momo knew was awaiting her.

"Aha, Yura-Sensei, fancy meeting you here, I hope you're well?" Momo forced herself to come off as innocent as she could, but for the girl who was the poster girl for the bad girl image, she was not having any luck, not that it would have done her any good anyway.

"So I've been hearing things from many of your teachers, care to explain where you've been disappearing to?"

Momo slowly backed away, all the while trying to formulate some sort of excuse and failing majestically before pausing midway. Without warning she spun in a 180 and kicked off, completely catching Yura-Sensei off guard, throwing open the window before the teacher could react.

"WAIT A SEC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Yura-Sensei was caught completely off guard and shock overwhelmed her when she realized what Momo was about to do. Yura-Sensei was not Momo's homeroom teacher, and only taught her one subject but she was the only teacher in school whom Momo actually feared and though she would never admit, respected. Yura-Sensei would give Momo brutal punishments (at least they were brutal to Momo) such as forcing her to do several weeks worth of homework under her direct supervision on the spot, but only whenever she caught Momo. It seemed to be some sort of cat and mouse game between them. But Momo would not be caught today.

Momo threw her butt onto the windowsill, while turning to face Yura-Sensei before giving her a wink and sticking out her tongue playfully. Yura-Sensei ran forward with her eyes wide open but she could not even cross half the distance before Momo leaned back and let herself fall. The teacher reached the window and threw her head out, desperately looking to see if Momo was safe, only to find the teenaged girl quickly throwing on her outdoor shoes before running off and vaulting over the back wall of the school grounds with movements reminiscent of a cat.

Yura-Sensei sighed in relief and rested her temple in her palm.

"That girl is such a handful." Yura-Sensei gave a wry smile before leaving to come up with a new game plan of catching the girl.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruka Skye peeked her head around the corner carefully studying the entrance to the Harajuku subway station, before sighing at the sight of the massive crowd of fans and reporters eagerly anticipating her arrival.

"Even here….. Like the school wasn't enough…" Skye pulled her beret down slightly in a feeble attempt to hide her face, before moving to hopefully find another, lesser used street entrance that she might be able to use to sneak in undetected. So far her disguise of a beret had kept people from recognizing her from a distance but if anyone got a close look at her, well, Skye did not exactly have the most inconspicuous face ever, with her large almond shaped eyes shaded in magenta, and impeccable doll-like features and milky skin.

"Excuse me! You're from Harajuku Meiko aren't you?"

 _Oh crap…_

Skye froze up at the voice emanating from behind her. She turned slightly while facing the ground, taking care not to reveal her face from under her beret.

"Urm, ye-yes…" Skye replied in a soft voice, trying her best to disguise it.

 _Dammit, I should have changed out of my uniform._

"Ah sorry to bother you, miss. I'm sure you've heard but a famous idol has recently started attending your school, I was hoping you might have seen her, or know when she might come out? I'm with this magazine you see, and we've been trying to get an interview with her…. Say, you look kind of familiar… Have we met before?"

 _Oh no._

Skye's eyes widened as she realized her identity was about to be discovered.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Skye felt a slender arm go around her shoulder, causing her to yelp slightly, as an overly cheerful and hyperactive voice yelled next to her. Skye turned to find a girl with short and messy snowy white hair and playful eyes smiling cheerfully at her, her face being more than a little too close for comfort.

"Geez, Yuki-Chan, I got out of the bathroom and suddenly you were gone, you're such a meanie leaving me like that- Hmmm?" The girl turned her gaze curiously to the journalist who seemed flabbergasted.

"You know this guy?" It took Skye a moment to register that the question was directed at her.

"Eh? Er, no…"

"Ah, excuse me, I was just asking your friend here if she knew anything about the idol who goes to your school."

"Ah? You mean Haruka Skye? Speaking of her, I just saw her when I left school, she seemed to be headed to the Meiji Shrine." The journalist lit up in excitement at his supposed stroke of good fortune before thanking the girl profusely and making a mad dash to the path that led to the shrine. The two girls watched him run off for a moment before Skye spoke.

"Urm…"

"Your disguise sucks. I recognized you a mile away." The white haired girl released Skye before taking a step back and sticking her hands into her blazer pockets. Skye saw that the girl wore the same uniform she did, albeit in the complete opposite way of how Skye wore hers neatly. A rather distinctive aspect of her outfit was a headband with a pair of ribbons in matching white to her hair sticking out in a shape reminiscent of a pair of cat ears.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you need good hearing to be able to sing properly? Your. Disguise. Sucks. I mean who wears a beret with their school uniform?" The girl snorted sarcastically, raising a hand in mock exasperation.

"Well, laters." Skye was still rather stunned by the events that had unfolded when the girl turned away and did a "see you later" motion with her right hand. It was then that Skye's delayed reaction kick in and she realized that she had just been sassed. Her face turned red in indignation and she puffed her cheeks.

"HARH?! YOU'RE ONE TO TALK ABOUT FASHION CHOICE, SHIRONEKO!" The girl almost tripped over herself, clearly caught off guard by the young idol's unexpected outburst.

"HARH?!"

"And your uniform, what is this, some kind of delinquent anime?"

"Oh ho ho, is that how it's gonna be, I've seen the shit you wear for interviews and stuff. Last I checked, you were supposed to be a singer, not Madoka Magica- Ah…" Both of them froze simultaneously as a winter breeze swept by, blowing Skye's beret off her head. Two pairs of eyes tracked the beret as it flew quite a few meters before landing at the feet of one of the masses that were waiting outside the train station for Skye. The guy, this time a fan, rather than a journalist, picked up the beret and turned to see where it had come from and the two girls saw that he was wearing a t-shirt with Skye's performing image striking a pose while smiling and winking. As he caught sight of them, he immediately recognized the now disguise-less Skye and started shouting out her name, gathering the attention of the crowd.

"Uh oh." Both girls shared a look right before the crowd turned into a stampede aimed right at them. The girl grabbed Skye's hand and took off running, almost pulling her off her feet, were it not for her impeccable sense of balance from her career as an idol. Skye took a single look back and wished she hadn't at the sight of the mob rushing them down.

"We'll lose them on the rooftops!"

"Rooftops?!" Skye was sure that she had misheard the girl before she cut into an alleyway, let go of her hand and leapt for a fire escape, catching the base with her fingers before flinging the rest of herself over. Skye's eyes widened as she skidded to a stop, completely caught off guard. The girl got to her feet and looked back down, frantically waving Skye up.

"What are you waiting for?! Come on!"

Skye took one look back and saw that the mob was quickly catching up to her and thus, decided to take her chances, running back a few steps before giving herself a dash towards the fire escape before jumping, kicking off against the wall a couple of times before launching herself onto the railing, flipping over as though she were dancing. The girl gave her a short stare and whistle before running up the stairs.

"Come on, snooze you lose, Princess." Skye sighed after the girl.

"Speak for yourself, Snow White."

The two reached the rooftop promptly and hopped a few roofs until they felt confident that they would most likely not be found before collapsing onto their backs next to each other, panting.

"You know, when I signed on to become an idol, they never did warn me about this happening."

"Heh, I've had easier times losing the cops. Why do I feel a strong sense of Deja Vu." Struggling to regain their breath, both girls suddenly started chuckling before breaking out into full on laughter at how ridiculous the recent events had been.

"I gotta say, I've been hopping rooftops all my life, never thought a delicate fairy like you could keep up with me."

"Pfftttt, there is _nothing_ delicate about being an idol. The regimens they put us through make the Self Defense Force look like Hawaii." The two shared another laugh before sitting up and resting back to back.

"Seems kinda redundant, but I'm Skye, Haruka Skye."

"Hazuki Mochizuki but no one calls me that. Name's Momo."

"You sound like some kind of sweet. OW!" Skye couldn't help herself from giggling from the unexpectedly cute name before feeling a jab in her ribs.

Skye leaned her head back into Momo's soft white hair and smiled to the fading sun. Despite the certainly abnormal circumstances, it had been far too long that someone had treated the young idol like a normal person.

 _Call me crazy, but I think I just made a friend…_

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"This is the budget for the Gymnastics club, I've allocated more funds to them this year as they've been putting out good results lately. The Anime Club is also requesting approval to represent the school in a cosplay competition at the upcoming convention."

"Put it on the side, I'll get to it later. Good work today, everyone." The rest of the student council stretched themselves after hours of endless paperwork while Ayuzawa Academy of the Arts' Student Council President continued her onslaught on the endless pile of forms and papers needed to be dealt with. Mashiro Taiga continued her paperwork well after the rest of her council had vacated the school before she heard a knock on the door.

"Yaho" A cheerful and somewhat seductive voice chimed, causing Taiga to raise her head to find an averaged height girl with excellent model like proportions yet wearing a blazer and uniform that did not belong to Ayuzawa, instead belonging to a rather prestigious establishment for girls named Meijin. The girl smiled at her, holding up a coffee, a cappucino with extra cream and topped with cocoa powder , from the Starbucks at the train station.

"Figured you'd still be here. Look what I brought you."

"You know, we have _rules_ about non-student and faculty trespassers here."

"Huh, you'd figured someone would've stopped me by now." The girl replied with a charming tilt of her nose, causing Taiga to sigh and smile before collecting her coffee and taking a quick swig, savoring the taste of the roast and enjoying the quick and much needed pick me up.

"Thanks, Hana."

"I aim to please. What've you been so busy with? We haven't trained in almost a week."

Taiga froze and set down her coffee, rubbing her temples.

"Hana, I know it's important but take a look in front of me. This stuff isn't going to sort itself out."

"Aaaaaaand whether or not the basketball club gets a few more balls is more important than saving the world." Hana's tone was more playful than anything but the meaning in her words were not lost in any way. Taiga rested her head on her palm and gave the twin-tailed girl (one tail longer than the other and both flayed out with a chocolate brown to magenta gradient) a wistful look.

"I know, I know… But to be honest with you, I really don't think I'm cut out for it. We've been into what, 3 Fractures? Apart from the first time, I can barely hold my own."

"Well it's true that a Persona's awakening grants a burst of strength, so you were definitely stronger at that time." Hana hoisted herself onto a free part of the council table with her legs crossed and tapped her lip thoughtfully before taking a sip from her caramel frappucino.

"But it isn't a one time thing, it only happens if the wielder has the potential in the first place." Hana gave her friend a reassuring smile and was pleased to get one back in return. It had been a month since Hana had saved Taiga's life when she had gotten caught in a Fracture, and also since Taiga had awakened to her Persona. The two had become friends and Hana was currently teaching Taiga how to properly wield her power.

"Sigh… I really hate how charming you are, you know that?" Hana replied with a wink and a peace sign while sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Tell you what, you help me stamp half this mountain, we'll hit Home Base afterwards. Really wanted to try out that new gun anyway." Hana gave a look of horror at the thought of being dragged into Taiga's brutal admin work right before her phone started beeping. Actually, it wasn't just her phone, Taiga's started beeping as well in a familiar tone tied to a certain app they shared. The two shared a look, all jokes and humor gone, before simultaneously taking out their smartphones and tapping on identical icons. Hana almost dropped her phone while Taiga's jaw dropped and she moved her free hand to cover her open mouth.

"Oh my god..."

"I've never seen one this big before… How is it even possible..." Both girls stared in disbelief at the massive circle that covered 4 city blocks on the map, and right at its heart sat Shibuya Station. Taiga immediately dropped her work and shot out of her chair, Hana following close behind her.

"I brought my gear, where's yours?"

"... In my locker." Taiga gulped, thinking about the tight window they had. If they did not make it, hundreds, if not thousands could die.

"What's our clock like?" Hana had already put away her phone without checking the timer, in favor of making sure she had brought all of her gear.

"..."

Hana tilted her head slightly, before repeating her question.

"Taiga. How much time do we have?"

"10 minutes…"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Onodera Mitsuha watched the express train leave the station, instead waiting for the normal commuters train that stopped at the station closest to her home. She turned her attention back to her phone just in time to witness her party's victory over a dungeon, eagerly awaiting the new event drops for her phone game. She did not even bother turning when an older boy with lightly tanned skin and dark maroon hair plopped down on the seat next to her, already messy Ayuzawa uniform ruffling even more from the movement.

"I know he said to keep a close eye on me, but you don't need to get _that_ close you know." Mitsuha spoke dryly without turning her attention away from "Mobile Heroes".

"Ya looked lonely, sides, if 'nything 'appened, I wanna be within arm's reach, Bancho's orders."

"I really don't think my brother meant that literally, Amano-San. What else did he say?"

"Hey there, Hime-Sama, I may not be a straight A student, but I ain't dumb nuff for ya to be fishin intel on the Onidera."

"Urgh…"

 _God I hate that nickname…_

Though Mitsuha was entirely uninvolved, her older brother had somehow risen to become one of the most powerful gang leaders in Tokyo, earning the name Onidera, a play on his name and the word Oni, though in Mitsuha's opinion, an extremely bad pun that made her cringe every time. The two were estranged, and they had not spoken directly in years, but that didn't stop Onodera Seiya from sending one of his men to protect his little sister after she had been targeted by his enemies once.

"Fine, if you won't feed me information, you're invading my personal space." Mitsuha replied nonchalantly while turning off her game and returning to the news articles on the recent spontaneous deaths, hoping to spot something she might have missed in the past 57 times she had gone through them in the past months.

"C'mon, don't be like that. It's not that Onidera-Sama doesn't want to see or talk to you, he misses you too. It's just dangerous for you to get involved wit-"

"Excuse me, someone help, this strange boy just put his hand up my skirt." Mitsuha increased her volume loud enough that the surrounding crowd could hear, but said the words in a ridiculous monotone. However, it was enough to attract the attention of station security as a uniform started making his way over. Shiego flew into a panic, not sure how to react and staring at Mitsuha with a look that said "HOW COULD YOU?!" Mitsuha simply continued sitting in the most regal way imaginable. Shiego was about to book it when the lights started flickering. Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and looked up. Both Mitsuha and Shiego looked around before sharing a look. Mitsuha bent forward and took a look at the security guard who had been making his way over, now speaking into his walkie talkie with his eyes on the flickering lights. Then the illumination died and the entire underground subway was plunged into darkness, several shocked screams ringing out. Mitsuha quickly clicked on the flashlight on her phone before grabbing onto Shiego's sleeve, not wanting to get separated in the darkness. A moment later the lights came back on. No. It would be more accurate to say that the platform seemed to flood with a dim red light, and everything seemed to be tinged lightly in red. Mitsuha could now see around her clearly and saw several confused and frightened faces around her as she got to her feet and picked up her school bag.

"Maybe we should…."

"Yeah, let's get outta 'ere." The two teenagers were about to make their way to the exit when the first screams, not like the shocked ones before, instead screams of pain terror and pain, screams one would never expect to hear in real life, emitted from up the stairs, causing the two to freeze. The entire platform was shocked into silence and for a brief moment, it sounded like the empty void of space. Then, Mitsuha heard a thumping coming from the stairs, almost rhythmic as she took a small step forward, trying to get a better look, much to Shiego's protests. The source of the sound revealed itself as a strange looking ball bounced down the steps before Mitsuha found her eyes widening and a scream rising in her throat as the ravaged and severed head landed by her feet. Mitsuha's scream echoed through the station as the staircase seemed to paint itself from top to bottom with the dark crimson of fresh blood.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Someone just kill me…" Ryouta stared in terror at the seemingly endless stacks of homework in his school bag before throwing his head back and sighing, zipping it back up, not wanting to look at tonight's source of torture any longer.

"My condolences, Amano-Sensei is a true sadist." Shin gave his friend a sympathetic look as a bump in the train almost made the fall into one another, as they both struggled to maintain their footing in the massive sardine packed rush hour train.

"Hey, if you really feel that bad about it, you could always come over and help me with it." Ryouta gave Shin a pleading look, at this point desperate enough that he was considering paying a professional to help him do his punishment homework. Shin gave him a look that said "You wish" but then reconsidered.

"That depends. Will Mo-Chan be home early tonight?" Shin felt the need to ask as he knew Ryouta's sister tended to be, to put it mildly, quite the adventurer. Ryouta's look immediately turned deadpan.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Ryouta's look was starting to unsettle Momo.

"What? It's just a question."

"Shin. I know you're an only child, but you don't make moves a guy's younger sister in front of him. She's 14 for crying out loud!"

"Hey, a 3 year gap is nothing! Sides, I'd treat her like a princess."

"Buddy, let me give you a heads up. If I don't give you a royal ass kicking first, Momo will put you through a meat grinder and feed you alpacas."

"What do you mean? Mo-Chan is so sweet and cute."

"Then you clearly don't know my sister well enough to be dating her, end of discussion. Besides, don't cheat on Sena-San." Shin's playful demeanor dropped, replaced by a very noticeable blush on his cheeks.

"Dude, not cool." Ryouta tilted his head slightly.

"I'm serious. You know as well as I do that she has a thing for you. She's a nice girl, and she's been there with you since the start. Do you just not like her or something?"

"No, I mean, yes, I mean… I don't know how I feel okay? Sena's just always been there you know? She's always been taking care of me and we've been friends as far as I can remember. I don't know, thinking of her in that way… It just doesn't feel right. That's why I try to keep myself distracted."

"Yeah, with my little sister…" Ryouta gave his friend a look of pure judgment.

"Come on, you sure she won't-"

"Paws off Mochizuki, Kazeyama." Shin raised his hands in mock defeat before changing the subject.

"Hey, you hear about the new transfer student? Riku-Senpai told me a foreigner will be joining his class next week."

"So? That's hardly out of the ordinary."

"If it were any other foreigner, maybe, but get this, this chick apparently aced the Meijin Entrance Exam, but got dropped from the enrollment because she got into some beef with the teachers." Ryouta snorted.

"I'd be surprised if anyone actually got along with those elitist snobs. Momo was interested in Meijin for high school before but when we visited, the staff did a complete 180 when they realized we weren't the extended family of the Prime Minister or some oil baron. _Oh, here in Meijin we have quite a stressful curriculum and extremely high standards for passing, and I fear it might be hard for your daughter to adjust from her current education program to ours without having had her foundation in Meijin._ " Ryouta had to stop himself from gagging at his imitation of the excuse that had been given to them.

"They forgot to mention the part with, _oh you're not a millionaire, get lost._ " Shin chuckled slightly at his friend's exaggerated response.

"You really don't like them, huh. But back on topic, apparently the reason they dropped her from the programme is because she was absolutely covered in tattoos and refused to hide them or something. Insisted on having them out on public display."

"Sounds like a hard-ass." Ryouta replied somewhat nonchalantly, not quite all that interested in someone who would not even be in their year. Shin was about to reply when the lights flickered. The pair looked up and watched the light flicker a bit more before returning to normal.

"Go figure, I'm glad to see hard-earned taxpayers' money is going to impeccable, high quality, public-" Shin's jab at public spending was cut short as the lights completely cut off before the train lurched violently forward, throwing everyone in their train off their feet and causing Ryouta and Shin to be crushed under the mass of bodies as an ear-splitting screech resounded through the tunnel and train. Screams resounded through the cabin as people continued to fall onto each other in a domino effect as the train continued its violent skid to a stop while Ryouta had to push back at the mass of bodies piling onto him to prevent himself from actually being crushed to death. When the train finally reached a stop in pitch black, Ryouta could feel the weight over him lighten slightly as people started falling back. Ryouta groaned in pain and felt something wet on his forehead, not sure if it was blood or someone's fluids had spilled onto him. He suddenly found himself hoping to god he was bleeding and not the alternative.

"Urgh, Shin… You alive?" Ryouta's croak was barely audible over the countless groans of pain through the cabin.

"Argh, Ryou, I'm not gonna make it. For my dying wish, can I please go on a date with Mo-Chan?" Ryouta rolled his eyes but his friend's attempt at humor to reassure him filled him with relief. Ryouta opened his eyes into pure darkness and fumbled around trying his best to get himself vertical. He then froze as his vision started to come back as a dim light seemed to fill the air with an all too familiar red tinge.

 _Oh no._

Ryouta scrambled over bodies, half-heartedly mumbling apologies as he crawled over others to get to a window before peering out as his eyes widened as he found a slight mist filling up the tunnel and most creepy of all, red lines like veins were slowly creeping across the tunnel walls.

 _Not again…_

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

A slim figure walked casually to the edge of the rooftop of the 25 story building, scanning the scenery as a thick fog seemed to form a perimeter around a massive circle of cityscape. The girl briefly erupted into black flame before her outfit changed into a dark high collar sleeveless jacket rimmed with a fluorescent glowing ice blue lining and dark torn pants while a massive segmented sword materialized on her back.

Mikoto smirked as the landscape was enveloped in a red tinge, her long ebony hair flowing in the wind. She pulled out her phone and opened the app before sliding her phone into a holder strapped to her right wrist.

"And so we all fall, down the rabbit hole."

Mikoto spun on her heel before leaning backwards, allowing herself to tilt over the edge and fall.

"Time to hunt some rabbits."

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 ***Insert ED1: Blowout by Konomi Suzuki**

 **Ahhhhhhhhh tbh, I wasn't really sure how to write this chapter, some of it just seems awkward to me. I just never got that BOOM where shit just flows into my head and onto my keyboard, I kinda really had to brute force my way through writer's block to get it done (I've done 10k word chapters in 2 nights before so this is just embarrassing OTL . Also, characters will be introduced gradually in true Persona format, so don't worry if your character doesn't appear in the earlier chapters. However, I will introduce characters at a quicker pace than say Persona 5, where you literally don't see Haru for 75% of the game. Also, I'm considering a portion of each chapter to go to telling a side story from Momo's perspective and have her as a secondary protag? Idk, I'll see how reception to her goes because otherwise, I feel that there might be a lot of plot holes further down the line. Tbh, this chapter was supposed to be released like 3 weeks ago but I suck at introductory scenes soooooo. Here's hoping the next chapter, that is obviously going to be more action-packed and therefore driven, will come out much faster than this one. Do drop a review as it really does encourage me to keep writing ^.^ Well, till next time, I'm off to destroy Merciless with my almighty Alice.**

 **PS: I never proof read my shit so there's bound to be typos and errors here and there (probably everywhere) so please forgive me EcksDee**

 **PSS: I'm sure that shit is pretty confusing at this point, as it is supposed to be. Not to worry, things will be explained soon.**

 **PSSS: I'm gonna close submissions soon, actually I'll probably close them by this Friday and the remaining arcana will be populated either with characters with relevance to some of the OCs or with other plot-centric characters whom I wasn't going to give arcana before.**


	6. Chapter 2: Awakening

**EDIT: I'm gonna be straight, this chapter was left half-written since July 2017 and I've been going through a REALLY rough patch since. I'm so sorry for disappearing as long as I have. I've had a lot going on for me so that's why this was on hiatus for so long, but I do hope to finish the story because I've honestly received such a great cast. I've started playing P4 and P3P recently so hopefully that will give me the push I need to keep on keeping on with this story! Keep in mind that at the time of first publishing, I have not proofread the thing so there'll probably be a few errors here and there that I'll fix over time.**

"Ryou…. Ryou…. Ryouta!"

Ryouta was shaken out of his shocked stupor by a firm grip on his shoulders. He blinked himself back to reality and turned to find Shin staring into his eyes with fear illuminating his own, further made eerie by the red tint that seemed to coat everything.

"Snap out of it, we gotta find a way outta here." Shin was now turning his head, trying to see if anyone had managed to get the doors open when Ryouta finally came to his senses and finally came to terms with the gravity of the situation.

"Shin, we need to get away from these people." Shin turned back to his friend with a look of confusion.

"What?"

"I don't have time to explain, but I can't fight in a space like this."

"Woah woah woah, what? Fight? Fight who? Why?" Ryouta's words did nothing to alleviate Shin's confusion, instead increasing the tension within him. However, Ryouta's mind was too busy racing through his options, trying to recall all that he could about the previous time. The sardine packed train was still packed to the brim but while Ryouta and Shin has stayed where they were in the middle of the car, most of the crowd had started piling up at the doors, frantically trying to pry them open, thus leaving the two with enough breathing room to move slightly. Finally, one group managed to overcome enough panic to have the sense to hit the emergency open button, resulting in a fountain of human bodies pouring out of the openings. Ryouta watched in panic, struggling with deciding whether or not to warn the streams of commuters who were now fighting to exit the car and travel down the tunnel to the nearest station. Shin heaved a sigh of relief and got up to move to the exit only to have his wrist caught by Ryouta. He turned around in puzzlement but was taken aback at his friend's expression of pure terror.

"Something's out there." Ryouta whispered with the steadiest voice he could master.

"What are you…" Shin trailed off as they were both interrupted by sudden echoes bouncing off the tunnel walls. The crowd had frozen and were all nervously listening to the sound and Ryouta heard some voices inquiring on its source. From where they were, it sounded somewhat rhythmic and yet oddly familiar.

"Is that a… dog?" Shin finally realized why it sounded familiar. It was the sound of padded feet on concrete. It was then that a loud roar was heard, before being drowned out by screaming and panic as the crowd started stampeding away from the sounds.

"What the hell?" Shin's confusion was cut short as he was jerked backwards into a full sprint by Ryouta, who was now leading them down the most empty subway cars. Several commuters tried to climb their ways back onto the cars but in the frenzy, people kept pulling and pushing onto one another, leading to everyone being stuck at the openings. As though anticipating his reaction, Ryouta seemed to speak directly to his thoughts.

"You can't help them. If we can get out of here, I think I can fix this."

"What the hell are you talking about? What is going on here?"

"Just trust me, Shin! I'll explain later!" Ryouta took a look over his shoulder as growls and roars were mixed into the further intensified screams which were now mixed with tearing noises that he did not want to think about. He just managed to spot a splatter of liquid onto one of the windows before seeing a large tail writhing around outside. There was then the ear wrenching sound of glass breaking and metal bending as he spotted a pair of clawed feet bending open one of the open doors in order to allow their owner to enter. Ryouta needed to see no more as he picked up the pace and yelled for Shin to pick up the pace. Shin took a look behind and saw what Ryouta did not want to, crashing through the cars after them, crushing support poles and seats in its wake.

"What in god's name is THAT?!" The two kept running and finally reached the front car. By now the screams seemed to have stopped but that was very very bad news. It meant that the two boys were the only two things left on the menu for the monsters. They both eyed the open side door, but found the outside littered with corpses and the sickening crunching noises, thus deciding instead to try to break out through the driver's cabin. Shin pulled on the handle but the door did not budge.

"Oh are you fucking kidding me with this cliche right now?!" At this time, Ryouta turned around just in time to see the creature burst into the car. It stopped at the other end of the car, growling and sizing them up. To Ryouta, it seemed to vaguely look like a lion with a dark purple coat and mane, if lions had heads like that of bats and a snake's tail as long as its entire body which was already easily twice as large as a man. For a moment, the boys simply stared down the monster before Ryouta motioned for the open door.

"On three, we jump out and make a break for the-" His instructions were interrupted by an ear-splitting roar before the creature came barrelling through the carriage right at them.

"OH SHIT!" Shin reflexively raised his arms in a futile attempt to shield himself, but through the crack in his arms, blue light erupted to life, and the roar was replaced by an almost canine yelp. Shin slowly withdrew his arms before his eyes widened at the impossible scene before him. His friend was standing with his arm stretched out in front of him with his palm open, but he seemed to be… _on fire?_ Blue flames were licking from parts of Ryouta's body and Shin gaped as he noticed that his uniform blazer was now extended like a twin tailed coat to the sides, while his shoulders seemed to be padded in a shape that seemed like armor. The normally ash grey blazer was now a jet black with luminescent red lines running down it like fluorescent lights. Even more impossible was the large figure clad in red that struggled to fit in the confined space in front of him.

Ryouta drew his hand back causing the large figure to fade away, revealing the attacking lion-thing from before suspended in mid air, before it fell to the ground, bleeding from a massive impalement at where Shin thought was its chest. The creature twitched once before laying still, and then it seemed to evaporate into a black smoke. Shin gaped at the spectacle with absolutely zero idea as to what he just saw.

Ryouta turned around, causing Shin to visibly flinch before Ryouta's shout snapped him back to his senses.

"What are you waiting for? Run!" Shin did not need to be told twice and scrambled to his feet. Despite his confusion and slight instinctive fear of whatever his friend had just displayed, he was still sensible enough to realize that Ryouta had probably just saved his life. The 17-year old in question followed behind him as Shin hopped off the train onto the tracks, before making a beeline for the front of the train which seemed clear. He heard roars behind me before Ryouta shouted for him to run. As they cleared the front carriage into the slightly more open area ahead, both stopped and spun around while lightly backtracking, just as an entire pack of the lion creatures emerged from the sides of the cars, one was even prowling on the roof.

"Miyamoto Musashi!" Ryouta commanded with a swipe of his arm, causing the large samurai figure to appear once more before him in a wave of blue flame. The creatures rose to the challenge and rushed at the large samurai before the first 3 were swiftly cut down down in a single slash, instantly evaporating into black smoke. However, there was no room for reprieve as a dozen more started rushing out from the tunnels, this time slightly more cautious of the samurai's blade. The samurai calmly scanned the opponents ahead of it and Shin was taken aback when he noticed that its head movements matched Ryouta's exactly with every motion.

 _Grrr_

Shin spun around and yelled in panic as another pack of the same creatures materialized from the darkness behind them. Shin tripped on the train tracks and yelled out in fear as the first of the creatures made a rush for him before the samurai appeared in front of him and swiftly cut the creature out of the air. However, seeing an opening, the creatures made a mad onslaught on their position and Shin saw Ryouta's composure break as the frantically directed the samurai in a frenzy to ward off every attack, while the three of them backed towards the tunnel wall. In the midst of the melee, one of the creatures managed to breach the samurai's defenses, leaping past the reach of its swords and clamping its jaw down on the samurai's shoulder. Ryouta yelled in pain, grasping his shoulder with a wince as though he were the one who had been bitten, before the samurai brought its metal, bare blade katana close to its abdomen and speared upwards, skewering the creature, forcing its bite off its shoulder and the tip of the blade exiting from the creature's throat.

The creature promptly dissipated into the now familiar black smoke, but the rest of its pack were slowly encroaching on their position, ready for another attack and spurred on by their packmate's successful attack. Ryouta sunk down on one knee panting, right hand still gripping on his left shoulder. The boy was at his limit. Shin turned his attention back to the creatures, feeling utterly and totally helpless, cursing himself for not being able to do anything. That was when he heard the voice, in a heavy kansai accent.

 _ **Why, ain't we in a pickle?**_

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mitsuha stepped away frantically from the severed head, tripping over her feet and landing on her behind before frantically pushing herself further away with gasps of fear. Shigeo's face was drained of all color as he stared at the same thing Mitsuha was staring at. Other bystanders caught sight of the head as well as pooling blood and flew into a panic, erupting into screams and scrambling to get away. Shigeo frantically reached down to help Mitsuha up but neither of their eyes left the escalator, afraid that _something_ would make its way down the moment they looked away.

A sharp cackling noise echoed through the underground walls, like the dry laughs of fairy tale witches, as Mitsuha scrambled to her feet. Right as she got back to her feet, a shadow, crimson in the red luminescence, appeared as its source hovered down the now inoperable steps. The two teenagers slowly backed away, completely ignoring the other bystanders they knocked into as a floating hunched over figure, reminiscent of of the stereotypical visage of a demon or imp, came into view, a cruel sharp-toothed grin plastering its lipless face. The creature had 2 small wings sprouting from its back, seemingly without function as it remained airborne without any movement from them and while the creature was in a position that was comparable to an overweight middle-aged man collapsed into a sofa much too small for him, while a tail tipped with a triangle hung lazily from its rear. Behind it, a woman, or at least it seemed like a woman, save for the matching wings and tail, clad in a unitard, followed. The woman possessed bewitching beauty and Shigeo found his mind wandering to forbidden areas despite his situation, much to his shock. She wore a seductive expression on her flawless face as the pair approached the exceedingly panicky crowd.

Realizing they were moments away from being caught in a full blown stampede, Mitsuha immediately grabbed Shigeo's hand and dragged him into the mess of bodies before leading them both onto the tracks. Shigeo finally realized what was happening and resisted slightly at the prospect of possibly jumping into the path of a train. Mitsuha angrily pulled at him.

"You want to die up there?!" This finally shoke Shigeo from his surreal state, realizing that they were indeed going to die if they stayed on the platform. Their early departure while the crowd had been stunned proved to have been their salvation, as screams began to erupt as the crowd flew into a full panic. Masses of bodies fell onto the tracks behind the pair as they raced into the dark tunnel, trying their best not to focus on the screams that were a mix of fear and pain along with more gruesome sounds.

As they ran, Mitsuha became increasingly aware that the walls no longer held a concrete texture and seemed more…. _Organic_.

"What the hell is this….." Mitsuha gave no response to Shigeo's hesitant and rhetorical question. At the moment, all that mattered was getting to safety, away from those monsters.

 _Wherever "safety" is…_

Mitsuha shook her head, refusing to give in to the dark feeling she had that such salvation might not be possible in their present predicament.

Both teenagers froze and turned around when the screams were stopped abruptly and the echoes of growling and roaring could be heard further down the tunnel. They breathed heavily as they stared into the black wall of darkness in the direction of which they came. Something was not right, even when they had been running non-stop for a few minutes, they should not have been far away enough that no light from the platforms could reach them. Moreover, the tunnel had been dimly lit in a soft red glow to begin with, so the zero visibility before them made no sense.

Perhaps the two should have kept on running, but the fact was that they had no idea what they were running into to begin with and by the sounds of it, both sides seemed to be equally horrible options.

"This can't be happening." Shigeo's panicked words were quickly cut off by a sharp hushing noise from Mitsuha, as she struggled to listen for any signs of danger.

Mitsuha's eyes expanded to saucers as the pitch black darkness before her seemed to _meld_ with the bleeding light of her surroundings before shooting out in a high speed wave, aimed straight at her face. She barely had time to throw herself to the ground before the attack flew straight through where her head had been, barely registering how close she had likely been to being decapitated.

"Mitsuha!" The girl in question grunted as she hit the floor before quickly raising her head to scan for the source of the attack, before desperately scrambling backwards when she saw the same demon woman from before slowly make her advance from the darkness, as though taking her time to indulge in the sadistic pleasure of stalking her prey. The woman flashed a cruel smile at Mitsuha before raising one impossibly delicate and flawless hand, as pure darkness seemed to swirl in her palm. Mitsuha almost lost control of her bowels as she raised an arm to futilely shield her tear-stricken fearful face.

"NO!"

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Mitsuha's eyes shot open just in time to see Shigeo charge the woman with a fire extinguisher. He must have pulled it from the wall when Mitsuha had fallen. He swung the heavy metal at the woman, but she merely levitated out of the way, almost casually, and her expression seemed more amused than anything. Shigeo cried out as he recklessly swung the fire hydrant at her, while she seemed content to simply dodge and amuse herself with his desperation. Realizing that what he was doing was futile, Shigeo instead stood his ground, causing a momentary expression of perplexity on the demon woman's face, before he sprayed the contents of the extinguisher at her, much to her surprise, causing her to shield her eyes. Mitsuha hear a heavy clunk on the ground before Shigeo rushed to her and held out his hand.

"Hurry and get up! We gotta go!" Mitsuha was about to grab it before she was suddenly sprayed with blood. After looking away from the spray, she slowly turned back with a despaired expression, gasping fearfully as she saw Shigeo's shocked expression. A stream of blood trickled down his chin from his mouth before they both looked down to find the gaping hole in his chest. To Mitsuha's horror, she could see straight through to the other side and inside, she saw his ravaged organs as well as the splintered bones of his ribcage. The two made eye contact again as Shigeo struggled to get a single word out.

"R…..un…" The light left his eyes before he fell over and collapsed right on top of Mitsuha's lap. The 15 year old girl stared into black face in shock, her mind unable to keep up with what was happening. As her emotions finally registered, she first quietly attempted to shake Shigeo awake, before she got more and more frantic and the death she had just witnessed began to sink in, paving the way for a massive wave of panic.

"Hey, wake up, can you hear me? Wake up! OI, IM BEGGING YOU, WAKE THE HELL UP!" Mitsuha cried and screamed, feeling her sanity slowly unravelling and tearing itself apart.

"No! I don't want this! Make it stop! I don't want this!" She finally broke down from the stress and buried her face into Shigeo's corpse. Meanwhile, the demon woman simply looked on in sadistic pleasure, slowly advancing and making sure to enjoy every moment. She let out a soft giggle, as though the whole situation was the funniest thing in the world to her, causing Mitsuha's face to shoot up from Shigeo's body, his blood staining her angry features. Her intense glare caught the woman off guard, as she had expected the young girl to have broken down from despair. Perhaps she had, but not in the way that was expected. Mitsuha knew she was about to die but she could not bring herself to care. Why did this have to happen, why did _any_ of it have to happen. First Lisa, and now this idiot that she'd just started to like, why couldn't she stop any of it.

 _I HATE IT!_

Her hatred for her own helplessness boiled like a volcano on the verge of exploding, and she turned all of it on her tormenter. After her initial surprise, the woman's smug smile returned, seemingly pleased that her toy still had some entertainment left in her. Mitsuha carefully laid Shigeo's body onto the tracks before pushing herself to her feet. With an anguished cry, she threw herself at her tormentor, attempting to do something, anything at all. She would rather die putting up a fight than wallowing in her own inability to do anything. The demon chuckled before casually backhanding Mitsuha in the face with impossible strength, slamming her into the walls of the tunnel. Mitsuha coughed as all her breath was squeezed out of her as she impacted on the concrete before sliding back down onto the gravel. She struggled to regain her breath and she tasted iron in her mouth, becoming aware that she was bleeding somewhere. However, she was past caring as she weakly pressed her hands against the floor and remarkably managed to get to her feet once more. She glared at the demon and snarled, subconsciously switching to Hiroshima-dialect instead.

"That all you got, you bitch?" The demon simply smirked, finally deciding that she had enough fun and raised her hand to conjure darkness to put an end to Mitsuha's misery.

 _ **Dear, oh dear, have you kept me waiting for far too long.**_

 _ **Insert Persona 5 OST: Awakening**_

Mitsuha was suddenly assaulted by a wave of intense pain in her skull, as though someone had pierced her brain with a molten hot iron. She fell to her knees with a gasp, drool mixed with blood falling from her lips as she grabbed at her head, attempting to stop the pain.

 _ **Have you finally grown tired of your own weakness? Of your own inability?**_

In a feral flurry, Mitsuha slammed her forehead into the ground, crying out in agony.

 _ **If you have finally found the strength to stand for yourself, to take yourself back into your own hands, then I shall be the blade that illuminates your justice. No more cowering behind excuses of helplessness, may you claw your way through all your enemies and smear them with your light.**_

Mitsuha tucked her head further into her chest, but somehow found the strength to grit her teeth and steel herself enough to form a reply, right as the demon fired a blast of darkness at her.

"I accept. Come to me, AMBRIEL!"

 _ **Insert Persona 5 OST: Will Power**_

A tornado of raging azure inferno exploded from Mitsuha, causing the demon to recoil in shock and fear. All the darkness, all the dim red light was blown away by an onslaught of sapphire light. Although the flames began to dissipate, the light remained as illuminating as ever. As the flames dissipated from where Mitsuha had been standing, they revealed two pair of large feathered wings, as white as snow itself, wrapped around something. Blue fire still dripping from them as a pale light appeared to emit from them. Within the wings, an arm was thrown to the side in a swiping movement. Simultaneously, the wings spread, releasing a great shockwave of wind that buffeted the demon and revealed Mitsuha, no longer clad in her original school uniform, instead dressed in a heavily militarized version of it, complete with a dark blazer with spaced out belt loops and a black pleated skirt, a lily as white as the wings that had shielded her tucked into the pocket of her top. She opened her eyes and gave the demon an impassive, angry look, causing the creature to show signs of nervousness, its previous smugness nowhere to be found.

"What is this?" She spoke for the first time, unable to keep the uneasiness from her voice.

"15 years and only now, can I stand up for myself? Every single time, I couldn't do a damned thing… Argh! So frustrating!" Mitsuha growled, unsure if she was speaking to the demon or herself as she began taking steps towards her enemy, the four-winged angel with unnaturally long neck and arms that seemed to be nothing but skin and bone followed right behind her. She wore a ghostly dress, as spectrally pale as her skin, far too large that it had to be kept on by tying a black rope around her waist. As Mitsuha raised an arm to the side, Ambriel followed suit, revealing a glorious blade the leaked angelic light in her malnutritioned hand.

"Sorry about this, but you did kill my friend. So I'm gonna use you to blow off some steam." As Mitsuha declared her intent, the demon growled in anger at how she was being spoken to.

"Big words for one who had just been cowering like a lamb in a slaughterhouse. I am Succubus, don't you underestimate me!" She fired another blast of darkness at Mitsuha, however Ambriel moved in front of her and easily cut through the magic with her blade, causing the Succubus to gasp while Mitsuha looked on impassively. Ambriel lunged at the Succubus causing the demon to dodge, but just barely as Ambriel's blade parted the air barely a hair away from her. Succubus flinched and rapidly flew backwards before unleashing a barrage of dark energy at Ambriel. However, the Angel blocked only a single wing as all the energy crashed harmlessly into her feathers. At that moment, Mitsuha heard a noise behind her, turning her head to investigate only to see another blast of darkness flying at her in the corner of her eye. With reflexes she knew for a fact she did not possess yet felt entirely natural to her, she leapt to the side into a roll before landing in a crouch. Raising her head, she saw that the other demon, the lazy-looking one with the long nose, had decided to join the fray. Succubus moved to join her companion as Mitsuha recalled Ambriel to her side.

"Having trouble, Succubus?"

"Be silent, Incubus. This one is a nuisance." The male demon, Incubus, chuckled at his companion's distress.

"No matter, now that I'm here, we'll deal with her together."

"I don't think so. It was fun, but this ends now." Both demons turned to look at Mitsuha, who now had a cruel smirk on her face.

"Do it, Ambriel!" At her master's command, Ambriel spread her wings before beams of light fired from between her feathers, crashing into the two demons before they had time to react, causing screams of pain. The smoke cleared to reveal the demons still alive but just barely. Mitsuha put her hands together in a praying gesture, causing Ambriel to do the same, holding her blade before her. The blade lit up before cards, or perhaps talismans, of pure light materialized around the two demons. They both looked around in blind panic.

"What is this?!"

"Justice."

At Mitsuha's words, the cards of light spun rapidly around the two before a light as bright as a star erupted through the tunnel before the dying cries of two demons echoed off their walls.

 _ **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

 _ **Why, ain't we in a pickle?**_

Shin's mind lit up like a wildfire, as though someone had poured acid inside his skull. He fell to the ground clutching his head, before rolling onto his back.

 _ **You really just gonna let him die like that? Cowering behind him while he dies to protect you? That the man you wanna be?**_

Shin cried out in pain, causing Ryouta to flash him a look, his eyes widening as he saw the familiar sight. Despite the intense pain, Shin somehow managed a retort for the voice in his head.

"NO!"

The pain reached a crescendo, as though reacting to his declaration, causing his body to freeze up before he rolled onto his stomach, his fingers clawing at the gravel in pain as he groaned in agony.

 _ **I've heard your resolve. You want power don'cha? Then power I shall give. May you use it well and throw your inner turmoil to the wind!**_

Shin slowly pushed himself to a crouch before throwing his head back and crying out in agony, triggering a tornado of blue flame to erupt around him. His cry echoed off the walls, causing the beasts to freeze in trepidation as Ryouta stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

"He has one too?!"

The cyclone of blue flame was replaced with one of actual wind, before dissipating slightly to reveal Shin dressed in a dark trench coat and a white shirt and black pants. An image worthy of a 19th century gentleman. Behind him stood a tall figure, about the same height as Ryouta's Miyamoto, clad in metal armor and a hood that barely showed the lower jaw of a skull before fading into nothing but pure darkness. Although the figure was humanoid, neither of his arms were connected to hands and in their place were a pair of massive revolver guns connected straight to his elbows. Shin raised his head, revealing a theater mask on his face, a distorted portrayal of both anger and happiness on the same face. He raised one gloved hand to it and slowly removed it while simultaneously, massive cannons moved up from his Persona's back to take place on his shoulders. Shin cocked his head to one side in an arrogant fashion, a cocky grin revealed on his face.

"Get clear, Ryouta."

Ryouta didn't need telling twice, the four massive gun barrels before him sent the message loud and clear.

"Miyamoto!" At his call, Miyamoto retreated from the beasts and returned to his master, who grabbed onto him before the pair leapt out of Shin's line of fire.

"Billy the Kid! FIRE!" On his command, Billy the Kid unleashed hellfire with all 4 of his guns, tearing into the enemy lines, utterly obliterating their ranks. Ryouta stared in awe as the monsters were mowed down like death by firing squad.

"Holy shit…."

The beasts tried to get away but none were able to escape to avalanche of bullets. Finally, Billy the Kid finished it off with a massive blast erupting from his shoulder based cannons, vaporizing the last survivors of his onslaught before crashing into the tunnel wall, completely disintegrating it to reveal the adjacent tunnel. As his attack wore off and both Personas faded away, Shin finally regained his senses and his expression turned blank as he blinked.

"Wha….. What did I just do?"

"It's called a Persona, man…" Shin turned to look at his friend, who still had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Huh?" Ryouta shook his head, deciding to save his shock and confusion for later, remembering where they were.

"I'll explain on the way, right now we need to look for the source of this mess and fix it." It was then that the tunnel lit up before the two felt a small explosion next to them, blowing them both to the side with a yell. The two managed to land on their feet, much to Shin's shock as he felt that he had somehow become stronger and more balanced. The two looked in the direction of the hole to find a girl with a notably ample chest dressed in some cross between a military and a girl's school uniform glaring at them. In front of her, a ghostly phantasm of an angel with four wings levitated with her sword at the ready.

"Another one?!" Ryouta cried out as he willed Miyamoto to materialize before him. Shin followed suit and found it surprisingly easily to call on what Ryouta had called his Persona, causing Billy the Kid to take the stage once more with his guns at the ready.

"Dude, I have **zero** clue what's going on, but she just attacked us right? So that means she's an enemy right?" Ryouta gave a wry smile.

"Doesn't look like she'll listen to us anyway, so shoot first, ask questions later."

Both sides positioned themselves to fight before the shrill voice of a girl yelled out to them.

"All of you, stop fighting!"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Okie, konnichiwa, minna-san! I'm officially closing OC submissions now (Well, technically i closed them last year, I'll have a full cast list out with the next chapter), so thank you for everyone who submitted OCs, even if I did not accept them. Also, a short announcement. I have finally finished a cover for Fracture(Again, this is a year late haha), and in the cover are Mikoto on the left and Ryouta on the right in their primary Fracturewear. I intend to do art for every character and probably post them on a wix or something, I'll announce it along with a link to the page when I've done it, in case anyone wants to see more visual representations of the characters. Do forgive the poor art tho x.x I did go to school for art but i only just barely graduated blurgh Also, I'm SO SO SORRY for disappearing for a year! I got a job in August last year and it seriously took a lot out of my life along with personal issues that really tore me up. I do want to finish this story very much and I will try my best to do so! Also, it does help that I finally decided on a structure for this story and finalized some key plot points so hopefully that helps move things along. This story will follow 2 different sides, with Ryouta and gang as the primary story while the other side of things will follow Momo and her smaller group. Think of them as something similar to Leon's main story in Resident Evil 4 and Ada's Seperate Ways side story that happens concurrently and will merge into the main plot at times.**

 **I originally intended for this chapter to be longer but then I realized what I had planned would basically cover the equivalent of an entire Palace, although a cut down version of it that keeps to main plot points. The next chapter will essentially cover up to the end of this "Fracture" and the following will be a sort of briefing chapter to get our cast and the audience up to speed on just what is going on.**


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